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Gas Safety Top Tips
Does your household use gas to heat their home, provide hot water, or cook food? Over 20 million households do and the team behind the Gas Safe Register recommend that everyone be aware of how to use gas safely in their home. And they have a number of gas safety top tips on how to stay safe.
First and foremost, never, ever attempt to DIY a gas appliance installation, service, or repair. It’s illegal and your court fine - nevermind that you might be risking you and your family’s health, or even lives -will cost you far more than any money saved not using a qualified professional.
So, if you have in your house a gas boiler, fire, cooker, or hob; or, have a gas fired central heating system, or hot water system; and it’s all either connected to a Natural Gas, or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply – then always use a Gas Safe Registered engineer to undertake installation, servicing and repairs. If you don’t, the law will come down hard on you.
Secondly and unfortunately these days, there are many rogue traders and cowboys about (and not those that ride horses in the Wild West), so simply it’s always best to make sure that the person preparing to do work on your gas appliance is actually properly qualified. So, as soon as you meet your engineer, ask politely for his Gas Safe Register ID Card. It shows you what he, or she, looks like and has a unique licence number which you can use to check online that they are still on the register. If you think there is something not quite right about the person standing before you, then telephone 0800 408 5500 and quote the unique licence number on your engineer’s ID card. If you are in any doubt, then think again. And if you feel sure that the person in question is in fact working illegally, then report it to Gas Safe Register using the online 'Report an illegal engineer' service.
Don’t forget, always be polite and don’t cause a confrontation, but the onus is on you to ensure that the engineer is properly qualified.
Right, slightly more complicated and something else you have to be aware of, is the fact that not all engineers on the Gas Safe Register are qualified to work on every appliance out there. So, to help you out, on the back of their ID, is listed their qualifications which tells you they are the right, or indeed wrong, person for the job. Again, if in doubt, use the
online 'Check an engineer' service.
Third tip, always, always, get your gas appliances serviced once a year, or more, of course, but be careful to read and understand the appliance manufacturer’s guidance here. And, for fear of repeating the same point, always get a Gas Safe Registered engineer to carry out the checks.
Fourthly, always install an audible carbon monoxide alarm. Ensure its audible, because remember that CO doesn’t smell and doesn’t taste. It does not announce its arrival, so get an alarm that shouts very loudly if it detects its prescence.
Finally, if you alarm sounds, or you think that CO is about, act quickly. Open windows and doors, turn off all appliances, turn off supply switches, telephone your gas energy supplier and get outside.
Remember, with CO, it’s best to be safe rather than sorry, always.
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