Its here – the annual gas safety week. Gas Safety Week is a week long campaign that helps people to be more gas safe aware in their homes. The campaign runs from 16th to 22nd September and this years main focus will be vulnerable people.
This blog contains our tips on how the vulnerable and their dependants can keep gas safe, as well as advice from the Gas Safe Register.
A Recent Study
According to a recent study by Gas Safe Register, 1 in 5 households have unsafe gas appliances! This may include appliances such as boilers, fires and gas cookers. This research involved over 2000 people who have elderly or disabled relatives or loved ones, that they see regularly to care for or check in on. The majority of these people said that the main reason for checking in on their loved ones was for their safety. Scarily, 92% of these people didn’t know what the crucial signs of an unsafe gas appliance was!
What to Look For
- Does yours or your loved ones cooker have a lazy yellow flame when lit? This is a sign that the cooker is not working as it should be and may pose a serious risk to those in its vicinity for a long period.
- More frequent amounts of condensation inside the windows is also a sign that a gas appliance may not be working as it should. This may mean that gases from the boiler flue are spilling back into the house, which can be extremely dangerous in a confined space.
- Make sure there is a carbon monoxide alarm in yours and your loved ones property. These relative inexpensive devices will sound if carbon monoxide is detected. This could potentially save lives, as carbon monoxide is a odourless gas that may not be picked up without one!
Our Tips
- Make sure you know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. There are 6 main symptoms, many of which can present themselves as a flu or a hangover. These are:
- Headache, Nausea, Dizziness, Breathlessness, Collapse, Loss of Consciousness
- Make sure you have your boiler serviced every year and ensure your loved ones remember to put it in their diary. Many of us lead very busy lives and may forget, however a simple boiler service will pick up on gas leaks and put your mind at ease.
- Always use a gas safe engineer. The engineers are put through training to ensure that their work is carried out safely. It is common for people without Gas Safe registration to attempt to work on gas appliances. If this should happen politely decline and call someone who can carry out the work safely and is certified to do so. Examples of this may include:
- Building work meaning that a boiler may have to be relocated. Make sure that the building company have a gas safe engineer with them to carry out this work.
- Kitchen fitting meaning that a new gas hob or cooker have been installed. Always ask to see the accompanying gas fitters card, most gas engineers will be more than happy to show it off!
Thank you for reading our blog. I hope this has given you some insight into gas safety and the dangers of not being gas safe aware in the home!