Top Gas Safety Tips For Home Owners

As this week is Gas Safety Week, we thought we'd cover the top gas safety tips for home owners.

Gas Safety Week is coordinated by the Gas Safe Register and provides a platform for the gas industry, consumer organisations and individuals to focus all our communications about gas safety in one week.

As registered Gas Safe engineers we take this incredibly seriously. The risk from unsafe gas appliances is high, but can be avoided by having appliances regularly serviced and maintained. In fact, for landlords, it's a legal requirements to have an annual gas safety inspection.  To find out more about Gas Safety Week, visit the Gas Safe Register website, here: https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gassafetyweek/about/

As a homeowner you rely on your gas appliances such as boilers, cookers and fires.  It's important to know that these appliances are safe, so here are our top tips to prevent any accidents from happening.

1. Regular Safety Checks

You should have your gas appliances checked each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Most people know to get their boiler serviced each year, but don't forget about the other gas appliances in your home. The best thing to do is to get them all checked at the same time.

2. Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the biggest potential problems when it comes to gas appliances. If a leak occurs, then carbon monoxide is likely to escape. You wouldn't detect this by smell, so the best thing to do is install a carbon monoxide detector and familiarise yourself with the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning: dizziness, headaches, loss of consciousness, nausea and breathlessness.

3. Know The Signs

Knowing the warning signs of a gas leak allows you to take action quickly.  If you see stains of soot marks near the appliance or excessive condensation nearby or a yellow flame in your boiler then you need to take action straight away.  Call Leeva Plumbing and our Gas Safe engineers will be with you asap to fix the problem.  Although these are telltale signs of a problem, sometimes there are no signs, which is why it's so important for you to have your appliances checked regularly.

4. Ventilation

It's absolutely vital that your appliances have enough ventilation to burn properly.  Make sure chimneys are clear of blockages and air vents are in good working order.

5. New Home Inspection

When you move into a new home you don't know who last serviced the appliances or, sometimes, when they were last serviced.  The best thing to do for your peace of mind is call a Gas Safe registered engineer to do a check on all the appliances before you move in.  It's likely that the seller would be able to provide you with a record that a qualified engineer has checked all pipework and appliance, but having it checked again would be a wise precaution to take.

6. Upgrading Your Home

Many people nowadays choose to upgrade their home rather than move house, so, if you're doing just that then make sure that the person doing any plumbing and gas work is Gas Safe registered. You can do this on the Gas Safe Register website, here: https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/find-an-engineer/find-by-name