Do you need appliance repair today?
For most people, when an appliance starts to act up, the instinctual response is to smack it lightly and hope for the best. While percussive maintenance (the art of hitting something to make it work) does occasionally have its uses, sometimes an issue is a lot more serious or complex than a light smack and a little patience can handle. Even if you’re willing to work with a faulty machine rather than throw it out, there are a few signs that really shouldn’t be ignored. If your appliance is showing one of the five following symptoms, it might actually be dangerous to keep using it before getting it inspected and repaired. If its time for service call on the guys in the yellow booties, SoBellas Home Services.
1) Leaking
Water is so innocent and harmless. We’ve all spilled a little water more than a few times in our lives and most of us are used to overlooking a puddle or two. However, when it comes to appliances, a leak is never a light issue. To start with, water damage is one of the biggest dangers to your home. Rot can damage the structural integrity, mold can damage your health and any dampness can draw bugs. However, with a water-using appliance, it’s also important to remember that this is an electrical machine. You run the risk of destroying the appliance and/or electrocuting yourself by using a leaky appliance.
2) Grinding Noise or Burning Smell
Unless it’s exactly the right moment in your coffee maker’s process, a grinding sound is a very bad sign for any appliance, as is the smell of something burning. This usually means something has fallen out of alignment or into some other mechanism. The normal function is being hindered, probably by friction, causing pieces to grate together when the appliance is in use. If you hear an unpleasant an unintentional grinding sound or smell burning coming from one of your appliances, it is breaking itself worse every time you hear the noise. Without repairs, the appliance will soon be both dangerous and useless.
3) Flickering Display
Let’s say the digital display on your oven begins to act up. Flickering, not responding to button presses, and other signs of electrical problems often seem incredibly minor. After all, it’s not like the heating element is broken or anything is sparking. Unfortunately, this is also the control center and ‘brain’ of your appliance, meaning that one day the oven might simply fail to turn itself off or think you want it to heat up much hotter than what you tried to punch in. A broken display and electrical system can be incredibly dangerous depending on the nature of the machine and even puts ‘safe’ appliances at risk of entering unsafe functionality states that could burn themselves out.
4) Overheating
Perhaps your appliance is working exactly as intended with no burning smell, grinding noise, leaks, or flickers, there’s still a chance that something is going quite wrong. More often than not, the first sign that your appliance is about to break, grind to a halt, or simply fail to continue is an overabundance of heat. This can be caused by something as simple as an overdue filter change or a much more serious internal heat exchange malfunction. Either way, if it’s hot enough to be uncomfortable against the skin, it’s time to call a professional.
5) Sparking
We saved the best sign for last because almost everyone can agree on this one. If your appliance starts actively sparking, that is throwing bright blue mini-bolts of electricity from any surface, connection, plug, or interface, unplug it and stop using it immediately. If you have to, shut it off at the breaker before approaching the wall socket in order to avoid electrocution. Exposed electricity is incredibly dangerous and once an appliance starts sparking, it usually doesn’t stop on its own.
If you have seen any one of these five signs displayed by a home or office device, it’s already past time to call for appliance repairs. No amount of kicking, smacking, cursing at, or ignoring the problem is going to make it any safer so you might as well get it fixed before someone gets hurt. For more information about appliance repair or to get a professional consultation on suspicious appliance activities, contact us today!
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