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If you smell gas, or think you have a gas leak in your home, turn off your gas supply, do not switch any electrical appliances on or off, or bring naked flames into your home, and call National Grid's free, 24 hour, national emergency number on 0800 111 999.
Then get in contact with us as soon as possible
Gas, when not used carefully, is a potentially dangerous source of energy. Following are a number of tips about making sure the gas supply in your home is safe:
- The best way to be sure about your gas appliances is to have them checked regularly by your gas supplier, or by a Corgi Registered Installer. Corgi are the national watchdog for gas safety. You can find a GAS SAFE Registered installer here.
- NEVER tamper with gas appliances yourself.
- If you are in rented accommodation, it is your landlord's responsibility to ensure that all appliances are maintained properly. If you have any concerns about appliances in rented accommodation, talk to your landlord.
- Poorly maintained gas appliances (in particular, gas fires) can emit carbon monoxide, an odourless, colourless and potentially fatal gas. Carbon monoxide detectors can be bought relatively cheaply from most good electrical and home stores to alert you if carbon monoxide is present in your home.
- If your carbon monoxide detector shows a presence of carbon monoxide, switch off your gas supply and call National Grid's free, 24 hour, national emergency number on 0800 111 999.
Carbon monoxide poisoning causes a number of accidental deaths every year when gas appliances are installed incorrectly, badly maintained or poorly ventilated. It is so deadly as you cannot see, smell it or taste it. Being exposed to carbon monoxide can cause brain damage and even death.
All appliances should be safety checked and maintained and it is especially important if you live in rented accommodation that the landlord checks and maintains any gas appliances. This is a legal requirement.
Although carbon monoxide is invisible and difficult to detect, there are ways that you can see whether an appliance (fires, heaters, central heating boilers, water heaters or cookers) may be dangerous. These include
- The pilot light continually blowing out
- An orange or yellow flame rather than a blue one
- A black, brown or scorched area on an appliance
- A musty smell or signs of soot
- More condensation than normal on windows
To keep your house safe and check for the presence of carbon monoxide you can use a carbon monoxide detector. These detectors sense if there is any carbon monoxide in the air and change colour or set an alarm off to warn you. You can buy detectors in hardware or DIY stores and you should make sure that it meets the correct standard before purchasing it. The label should display BS 7860 in Britain, showing it is officially approved by the CO Alarm Standards. You should test your detector every month and replace batteries when necessary. Detectors don't last forever so you replace them as recommended by the manufacturer.
Don't ever ignore the detector and if you suspect carbon monoxide is present in your home then you should evacuate everyone immediately.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can include: headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, diarrhoea, stomach pains, chest pains and erratic behaviour. A faulty gas appliance can cause these symptoms and you should be wary if the symptoms worsen when a gas appliance is in use and if the symptoms lessen when away from the house but then return again when you are back in the property.
Call us today if you need advice.
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