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Safety starts with accident prevention. Injuries are usually caused because learned safety precautions are not practiced. In this chapter are listed some tips to help the technician to correctly and safely install, operate, and repair major appliances. Any person who cannot use basic tools should NOT attempt to install, maintain, or repair any major appliance. Any improper installation, preventative maintenance, or repairs will create a risk of personal injury, as well as property damage. Call the service manager if installation, preventative maintenance, or the repair procedure is not fully understood. Every technician should carry a first aid kit. They should know how to properly use the contents of that kit, and know its location. Technicians should carry a fire extinguisher in their service vehicles, in case of an emergency. It is also recommended that they take a first aid course, such as those offered by the American Red Cross. SAFETY PROCEDURES Individual, electrical, chemical, appliance, operating, and installation safety precautions are generally the same for all major appliances. Carefully observe all safety cautions and warnings that are posted on the appliance being worked on. Under standing and following these safety tips can prevent accidents. Individual safety precautions Protecting yourself from injuries is necessary. Before installing, maintaining, or servicing any major appliance, do the following: • Wear gloves. Sharp edges on appliances hurt hands. • Wear safety shoes. Accidents are often caused when dropping heavy appliances, especially on feet that are not protected. • Avoid loose clothing that could get caught in the appliance while it is operating. • Remove all jewelry when working on appliances. • Tie long hair back. • Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying debris. • Use proper tools, in clean and good condition, when repairing appliances. • Have ample light in the work area. • Be careful when handling access panels, or any other components that may have sharp edges. • Avoid placing hands in any area of the appliance that have not been visually inspected for sharp edges, or pointed screws. • Be sure that the work area is clean and dry from water and oils. • When working with others, always communicate with each other. • Always ask for help to move heavy objects. • When lifting heavy appliances, always use your leg muscles and not your back muscles. Electrical safety precautions Know where, and how, to turn off the electricity to the appliance. For example: plugs, fuses, circuit breakers, and cartridge fuses; know their location in the home. Label them. If a specific diagnostic check requires that voltage be applied, reconnect electricity only for the time required for such a check, and disconnect it immediately thereafter. During any such check, be sure no other conductive parts come in con tact with any exposed current-carrying metal parts. When replacing electrical parts, or reassembling the appliance, always reinstall the wires back on their proper terminals according to the wiring diagram. Then check to be sure that the wires are not crossing any sharp areas, nor pinched in some way, nor between panels, nor between moving parts that may cause an electrical problem. These additional safety tips are also important to remember: • Always use a separate, grounded electrical circuit for each major appliance. • Never use an extension cord for major appliances. • Be sure that the electricity is off before working on the appliance. • Never remove the ground wire from a three-prong power cord, or any other ground wires from the appliance. • Never bypass or alter any appliance switch, component, or feature. • Replace any damaged, pinched, or frayed wiring before repairing the appliance. • Be sure all electrical connections within the product are correctly and securely connected. Chemical safety precautions Chemicals are also dangerous. Knowledge of chemical safety precautions is essential at all times. The following tips are examples of important practices: • Remove all hazardous materials from the work area. • Always store hazardous materials in a safe place, and out of the reach of children. • Never smoke, or light a flame, when working on gas appliances. • Before turning on appliances that use water, run all of the hot water taps in the house for approximately five minutes. This clears out the hydrogen gas that can build up in the water heater and pipes, if not used for more than two weeks. Appliance safety Call the service manager to check out the appliance, if the safety of an appliance is in doubt. Only use replacement parts of the same specifications, size, and capacity as the original part. If you have any questions, contact your local appliance parts dealer, or your service manager. Check water connections for possible water leaks before reconnecting the power supply. Then, completely reassemble the appliance, remembering to include all access panels. Operating safety After repairing the appliance, do not attempt to operate it unless it has been properly reinstalled, according to the use and care manual, and the installation instructions supplied by the manufacturer. If these instructions are not available, do not operate the appliance. Call the service manager to check out the reinstallation, or ask for a copy of the installation instructions from the manufacturer. Know where the water shutoff valves are located for the washer, dishwasher, ice maker, and water heater, as well as the house’s main water shutoff valve. Label them. Following these additional safety tips can also prevent injuries: • Do not allow children to play on, or to operate, appliances. • Never allow anyone to operate an appliance if they are not familiar with its proper operation. • When discarding an old appliance, remove all doors, to prevent accidental entrapment and suffocation. • Instruct the customer to only use the appliance for the job that it was designed to do. Installation safety precautions The first step in assuring safety with major appliances is to be sure that they are in stalled correctly. Be sure to read the installation instructions, and the use and care manual, that comes with the appliance. Observe all local codes and ordinances for electrical and plumbing connections. Ask your local government agency about these codes. Additional safety tips: • Carefully observe all safety warnings that are contained in the installation instructions, and in the use and care manual. • The work area should be clear of unnecessary materials, so that there is plenty of room to work on the appliance. • Be sure that the appliances are installed and leveled on a floor strong enough to support their weight. • The appliance should be protected from the weather, and from freezing, or overheating. • The appliance should be correctly connected to its electric, water, gas, drain, and/or exhaust systems. It should also be electrically grounded. • Be sure that the appliance has a properly installed anti-tip device, as in the case of kitchen ranges. GROUNDING OF APPLIANCES In 1913, the National Electrical Code (NEC) made grounding, at the consumers home, mandatory. The NEC required that range frames be grounded to a neutral conductor in 1943. Later, in 1946, it required that receptacles in laundry areas be grounded. Soon after, the NEC required that the frames of automatic dryers be grounded to neutral conductors. Then, in 1959, NEC required that automatic washers, automatic dryers, automatic dishwashers, and certain motor-operated hand-held appliances to be grounded. All 15 amp and 20 amp branch circuits have grounding type receptacles, as specified in 1962. Finally, in 1968, the code required that refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners be grounded. The greatest importance of grounding appliances is because it prevents people from receiving shocks from them. However, the major problem associated with the adequate grounding of appliances is that many homes are not equipped with three- prong grounded receptacles. To solve this problem, the consumer must install, or have installed, a properly grounded and polarized three-prong receptacle. A qualified electrician should connect the wiring, and properly ground and polarize the receptacle. Remember that safety is the paramount concern, especially when dealing with electricity. Both the technician and the consumer must be aware that it only takes about one hundred milli-amperes of current to cause death in one second. Here are some safety tips: • Do not install or operate an appliance unless it is properly grounded. • Do not cut off the grounding prong from the appliance plug. • Where a two-prong wall receptacle is encountered, it must be replaced with a properly grounded and polarized three-prong receptacle. • Call the service manager if you doubt your abilities. When dealing with electricity, there is no leeway for mistakes. CHECKING APPLIANCE VOLTAGE If it becomes necessary to test an appliance with the voltage turned on, observe the following precautions: • The floor around the appliance must be dry. Water and dampness increase the probability of a shock hazard. • When using a multimeter, always set the meter correctly for the voltage being checked. • Handle only the insulated parts of the meter probes. • Touch components, terminals, or wires with the meter probe tip only. • Touch the meter probe tips only to the terminals being checked. Touching other components could damage good parts. • Be sure that the appliances have properly installed anti-tip devices, as found on kitchen ranges.
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