If Your Appliance is Malfunctioning - What To Do

If an electrical appliance is malfunctioning, making a weird noise, producing a bad smell or is smoking
you should shut the power off to the appliance and unplug. For appliances like toasters, air fryers,
blenders --- things that are plugged into an outlet, unplug the appliance from the wall. Shutting off the
device and/or removing the power is critical. If you are concerned about getting shocked or about
touching the appliance, shut the power at the main breaker box. Fire Fighter Frankie recommends hiring
a certified electrician to determine how the power is distributed and marking these locations on the
electrical panel.

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For devices that are hardwired, like most dishwasher, the power will have to be shut off at the main
breaker panel.

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If you cannot find the correct breaker to “throw” and it is a serious situation, you can shut the main
breaker. This will shut power down to the entire house.
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For appliances that are powered by natural gas or propane, like stoves, clothes washers, dish washers,
HVAC systems, you will need to shut off all power sources. To shut off the gas, it usually requires a
quarter-turn value be moved to a perpendicular position in relation to the gas line.

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