When looking to create a comfortable environment within your home, as we all want to do, being gas safe should be close to the top of that list. Gas Safe engineers exist to provide high-quality maintenance to your home, but what can you do personally to ensure that everything is as safe as possible?
Being Gas Aware
Before venturing into the world of gas safety, we should cover some awareness tricks.
For gas to work effectively in your home, adequate ventilation is a must-have. Methods of ventilation that you can employ include air vents, chimneys, extractor fans, and even opening windows and doors where possible.
These are imperative for your gas to burn properly, as well as ensuring the avoidance of bad odours and harmful leftover gas.
This follows on to our next topic regarding gas leaks. If there is a gas leak in your home, you should be aware of the side effects so you can pick up on them at any time
Gas leaks can cause what is known as Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Carbon Monoxide is a poisonous gas, which is leftover if natural gases aren’t able to fully burn (another reason for good ventilation in your home). Carbon Monoxide has no smell or taste and, as with most gases, cannot be seen.
The effects of Carbon Monoxide poisoning are headaches, dizziness, nausea, and being short of breath. Some of these effects are likened to a hangover or some viruses.
It is crucial to pick up on these signs as prolonged exposure following these effects can lead to loss of consciousness.
You can also detect gas leaks via floppy yellow/orange flames on your hob as opposed to blue, soot stains on your appliances, condensation on your windows, or your pilot light blowing out frequently.
While ventilation can help you to avoid Carbon Monoxide, the leading causes of these leaks are poor appliance fitting and poor appliance maintenance.
Being Gas Safe
You can do several things to ensure safety in your home, on top of being aware of the subjects we have mentioned.
Ventilation is something that can be discussed with an engineer to help you feel safe, but you can also have a Carbon Monoxide alarm fitted. This is able to detect the gas and is an indicator to leave your home and call for trained assistance in the event of a leak.
These alarms should not be relied upon as the sole safety measure, but can be an extra safeguard against a dangerous situation.
Something we heavily recommend is having your gas appliances checked yearly. This will provide necessary insights into the health of your appliances, whilst also offering you peace of mind.
These checks can also give you access to gas safety certificates, detailing the health and completed inspections of your appliance.
When moving into a house that has gas appliances, we recommend asking for these certificates to ensure your safety.
At Cambridge Discount Electrical we are gas safe registered, so you can be secure in the knowledge that we can help you in a pinch or in the years to come without putting yourself at risk.
If our post today has raised any concerns about your gas safety, give us a call on 01223 248240 where will be happy to talk through your worries and ensure the gas safety of your home is up to scratch.