5 top tips to be Gas Safe in your home

Being gas safe is incredibly important and involves ensuring that all of the gas appliances in your home, such as boilers, cookers and heaters, are properly installed and maintained. By failing to meet gas safety regulations, you are risking events such as gas explosions and leaks, fires, monoxide poisoning and even prosecution.

1. Get an annual gas safety check - it’s really important to have a Gas Safe registered engineer check your gas appliances every year. By having these checks completed annually, you can be assured that all of your gas appliances are working as they should be, or you can be notified of any potential issues.
2. Look out for signs that your boiler isn’t working correctly - potential signs of a fault in your boiler can include visible leaks, strange smells and noises, a flame that isn’t blue, fluctuations in water temperature and high energy bills.
3. Purchase a carbon monoxide alarm - carbon monoxide detectors essentially do the same job as a fire alarm, but instead, they work to detect carbon monoxide rather than smoke. Due to carbon monoxide being odourless, colourless and tasteless, an alarm can potentially save your life, as the gas is otherwise hard to detect. In the UK, between 40 and 50 people die and approximately 200 people are hospitalised every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
4. Know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning - you must know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and can identify these in a person, as it can be deadly. As previously mentioned, symptoms include headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and irregular breathing. If any of these symptoms are identified either within yourself or another household member, seek help from a medical professional immediately.
5. Ensure there is adequate ventilation - for your gas appliances to burn correctly, they may require specific ventilation or air vents. This means ensuring that no air vents or chimneys in your home are blocked or obstructed.