Fire vs. Fire Extinguisher

Sometimes a small fire can be less damaging than a fire extinguisher. Sure, this may a wonderful analogy, but you should also take it very, very, literally. That's because some fire extinguishers, like the one I just used to douse a fiery toaster oven, for example, can leave clouds of powder, which settle into mounds of powder, that are really hard to clean up. Spray one in your kitchen for 10 seconds, and you'll spend the rest of the day cleaning up your kitchen from top to bottom, washing every dish, every appliance, and scrubbing the floors and counters, more than once. Trust me, don't do it unless it's absolutely necessary.