What Counts as an Appliance Emergency?

Not every breakdown is urgent. It becomes an emergency when the failure creates a safety risk, active damage, or critical loss you can’t reasonably work around. We prioritize calls where there’s risk of fire, gas, flooding, electrical shock, food loss, or home damage.

The Red-Flag Checklist (if “yes,” treat as emergency)

• Gas: you smell gas, hear continuous clicking with gas odor, see yellow/sooty flame, or your CO detector alarms.
• Water: active leak, overflowing washer/dishwasher, burst hose, or standing water that keeps returning.
• Electrical: sparking, sizzling, scorched outlet/plug, burning-plastic smell, or breaker that trips immediately on reset.
• Heat: oven/range won’t shut off, “runaway” heat, dryer smells hot/burning, or lint smoke at the door.
• Cold storage: refrigerator/freezer not cooling (product warming), compressor dead/no start, or both sections warm.
• Hard failure: laundry down mid-cycle with water trapped; any code paired with leak, heat, or shock risk.

If your situation matches any line above, it’s an emergency and moves to the top of our queue.

Appliance-By-Appliance: What’s Emergency vs. Urgent vs. Can Wait

Refrigerator / Freezer

• Emergency: both sections warming, audible clicking/no start, hot electrical smell, water line burst.
• Urgent (same day preferred): freezer cold but fresh food warm, ice maker leak.
• Can wait: noisy fan with normal temps, loose shelf parts.

Gas Range / Oven

• Emergency: gas odor, delayed ignition “boom,” continuous spark with odor, CO alarm.
• Urgent: oven won’t heat but no odor, single burner out with others OK.
• Can wait: cosmetic knob issues, minor click without odor.

Electric Range / Wall Oven / Induction

• Emergency: won’t shut off, runaway heating, scorched smells at control/terminal block, repeated instant breaker trip.
• Urgent: no-heat on a zone/element, panel error with normal temps.
• Can wait: small temp drift on bake that still cooks.

Washer

• Emergency: active leak, tub won’t stop filling, live power + standing water, burning smell at motor/control.
• Urgent: won’t drain/spin (no leak), door locked with water.
• Can wait: mild vibration with normal cycles.

Dryer (Gas/Electric)

• Emergency: burning smell, visible scorching, jammed drum but heater still active, lint smoke, repeated instant breaker trip.
• Urgent: no heat (tumbles), loud grind but no odor.
• Can wait: light squeak that doesn’t worsen.

Dishwasher

• Emergency: overflow onto floor, leak under toe-kick, live power with water inside.
• Urgent: won’t drain but no leak, persistent error without water on floor.
• Can wait: spray arm rattle with clean, dry floor.

Do-This-Now Safety Steps (before we arrive)

If you smell gas: do not flip switches or try to light anything. Leave immediately and call your utility’s emergency line (Con Edison / National Grid). Once they clear the site, call us to service the appliance.

If there’s water: unplug the appliance (or switch off the breaker), close the unit’s water valves, place towels/trays, and avoid opening electrical panels while wet.

If there’s sparking or a hot smell: switch off the dedicated breaker and don’t keep resetting it. Do not touch a scorched outlet or melted cord.

If food is at risk: keep refrigerator/freezer closed; add ice packs if available; we’ll triage cooling failures first.

How We Prioritize (no scripts, real triage)

• Life-safety first: gas, fire, shock, and active flooding.
• Critical-loss second: no-cool refrigerators/freezers and laundry failures with trapped water.
• Everything else: by proximity + failure severity so the nearest qualified tech reaches you fastest.

You won’t repeat your story twice—our dispatcher briefs the technician with your symptoms, model, and access notes before they roll.

Emergency Service Areas (NYC)

• Manhattan (all neighborhoods below 96th Street)
• Brooklyn (Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, South Slope, Gowanus, Red Hook, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Downtown Brooklyn)
• Queens (Astoria, Long Island City) — select ZIPs
• Bronx — select ZIPs

Real-time availability shows at booking, and your slot locks the moment it’s confirmed.

What to Send When You Book (speeds everything up)

• Brand + model (photo of the rating plate).
• One photo or 10-second video of the issue (leak path, outlet/plug, control code, ice on coils, flame color).
• Access notes: elevator window, COI, doorman contact, tight laundry closet, or stacked set.
• Preferred window: 11–2 / 1–4 / 3–6.

Text or call (332) 333-1709 — if it’s unsafe or causing damage, it’s an emergency and we’ll treat it that way.

From Panic to Safe & Stable: What Happens Next

How We Handle Emergencies (start to finish)

1) Intake & triage. You tell us what’s happening; we classify it as life-safety, active damage, or critical loss. If utility or 911 needs to be called first (gas, fire, live shock risk), we’ll say so immediately.
2) Dispatch by proximity & skill. The closest tech qualified for your issue rolls with the right kit (gas, cooling, water containment, or electrical).
3) Stabilize first. We make the scene safe before anything else—shutoffs, capping, de-energizing, and water control.
4) Diagnose under real conditions. Short, targeted tests to find the first failed part and any root cause (blocked vent, clogged drain, failing fan, etc.).
5) Fix or isolate. If parts are on the truck, we repair on the spot. If not, we isolate the hazard, restore a safe partial function when possible, and fast-track parts.
6) Verify & document. Proof run, leak/temperature/electrical checks, photos, and a simple summary you can share with your super or insurer.

Our “Stabilize-First” Playbook (category by category)

Water on the floor (washer, dishwasher, fridge line)

• Close appliance valves, pull and inspect hoses, set containment trays and absorbent mats.
• Wet-vac and dry the toe-kick area; check for active drips.
• Bypass or cap the source (inlet valve, cracked drain hose, ice maker feed) until repair is complete.

Heat/odor/smoke (oven/range/dryer)

• De-energize at the dedicated breaker; for gas, close the shutoff valve and test for odor.
• Inspect terminal blocks, elements/igniters, fans, and lint paths.
• Remove carbonized lint or debris; do not re-energize heat until the failed part is replaced.

No-cool refrigerators/freezers

• Confirm compressor/fans/defrost circuit status; clean blocked condenser if safe.
• Thermal scan: coil frost pattern, warm case hot spots, door gasket leaks.
• If a part’s needed, we set food-loss mitigation steps (door discipline, cold packs, rapid return slot).

Electrical short or tripping breaker

• Identify and isolate the appliance circuit; check cord, plug, and terminal heat damage.
• Visual board/relay inspection (no blind resets); megger or continuity tests as appropriate.
• We do not keep resetting a breaker—root cause first, power second.

24-Hour Workarounds (to get you through the night)

• Refrigerator warming: keep doors closed; move perishables to the coldest section; add sealed ice packs; if the freezer is colder, stage items there temporarily.
• Washer or dishwasher leak: leave water valves off; place a tray/towels under the toe-kick; don’t run “just once more.”
• Dryer heat/smell issue: air-dry clothes; do not run the unit to “test the smell away.”
• Range burner won’t stop clicking (no gas odor): dry caps thoroughly, reseat level; if clicking persists, leave power off at the breaker until we service the spark module.

What We Bring to Emergencies (and why it matters)

• Water containment & cleanup: low-profile trays, absorbent mats, wet vac.
• Gas safety: leak-detection tools, caps/fittings, manometer; we leave lines capped safe if the appliance must stay off.
• Cooling diagnostics: thermal camera, coil brushes, contact thermometers.
• Heat/electrical: clamp meter, IR spot checks, element/igniter spares, terminal kits.
• Common OEM parts: igniters, bake/broil elements, inlet valves/hoses, drain pumps, thermal fuses, thermostats, rollers/belts, door gaskets, fans.

What Not to Do While You Wait (prevents bigger damage)

• Don’t keep resetting a breaker that trips immediately—that’s active fault, not “just a blip.”
• Don’t run self-clean to “burn off” smells—self-clean stresses locks, gaskets, and boards.
• Don’t pour chemical drain cleaners into washer/dishwasher lines—they attack seals and won’t reach the clog.
• Don’t keep opening a warming fridge—cold air falls out like water; door discipline buys hours.
• Don’t tape a leaking hose and run it “one last time.” A pinhole becomes a flood at full pressure.

Building & Management Coordination (NYC specifics)

• COI & elevator windows. Tell us if your building needs a Certificate of Insurance or has freight-elevator hours; we’ll time the visit accordingly.
• Tight closets & stacked sets. We bring non-marring lifts and floor protection; safe access beats fast access.
• Doorman/concierge notes. We arrive briefed—you won’t repeat your story at the door.

Pricing, Parts & Timing (clear expectations)

• Diagnostics are credited toward approved repairs. You’ll see the quote before we start work.
• If an OEM part is needed and not on the truck, we set the soonest return window and leave the appliance in a safe state.
• We only use OEM parts for emergency repairs—fit, seal quality, and heat tolerance matter when the stakes are high.
• You get a concise service summary (what failed, what we did, what’s next) you can send to your super or insurer.

Proof of “Safe & Fixed” Before We Leave

• Water: no active drips; hose routing corrected; dry toe-kick; test cycle run without leaks.
• Gas/heat: no odor, steady blue flames or correct element draw; fan/airflow verified; no abnormal temperature rise.
• Cooling: temperature trend is stable or a plan is set for part replacement with food-loss mitigation.
• Electrical: clean terminals; breaker holds under load; no smell or hot spots on IR.

Aftercare & Prevention (so you don’t need us at 10 PM)

• Hoses & valves: replace bulged, rusted, or decade-old washer hoses; close dishwasher/washer valves when traveling.
• Dryer venting: keep runs short and smooth; clean lint paths—most heat emergencies start here.
• Range maintenance: keep burner ports clear and caps dry; fix delayed ignition now, not after the “boom.”
• Refrigerators: vacuum condenser coils (where accessible); door gaskets flat and clean; no packed shelves blocking airflow.
• Dishwashers: clear filter and spray arms; fix small leaks promptly—small leaks become big damage.

Micro-FAQ (fast answers)

• Will you speak to my super? Yes—send their contact; we’ll loop them in with photos and a summary.
• Do you carry parts? We stock common emergency parts; rarer components are couriered or scheduled ASAP.
• Is emergency pricing different? You approve all costs up front; diagnostics are credited toward repair.
• Do you provide loaners? Not for major built-ins; we’ll advise best stop-gaps (coolers/ice, valves off, safe isolation) until the fix.