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Posts Tagged ‘carbon monoxide<’
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, tasteless odourless gas that is the product of incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels. These fuels include gas, oil, coal and wood, but all are however safe when used correctly. According to the Health and Safety Executive, approximately twenty people die in Britain every year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by wrongly installed gas appliances, and flues that  have not been properly maintained and cleaned. If there ever was a reason to Find a Heating Engineer, then surely this is it.
These people all probably died from a sudden intake of the deadly gas that prevented their blood from carrying oxygen to their tissues, skin and other organs. The gas may however also kill almost imperceptibly over a longer period of slow leaks. These are the sensible precautions you could follow to avoid this happening to you and your family.
o Make sure that any work carried out in your home is done by a Gas Safe registered engineer who is competent to do the particular job. You can get Gas Fitting Quotes right here.
o Arrange for regular inspections by a Gas Safe registered firm as recommended by them.
o Ensure that any room containing a gas appliance is adequately ventilated, and that any chimneys, vents and flues do not become blocked. If you have one, get your chimney swept annually,
o  Never use any heating appliance that burns carbon-based fuel without a flue installed by a Gas Safe registered fitter. Paraffin and cabinet heaters are never completely safe and should not be used.
o Fossil-burning appliances outside the remit of Gas-Safe registered fitters should be regularly inspected by another person competent to do the work.
There could hardly be a London Plumber who does not also recommend the installation of audible carbon monoxide alarms in every room, although these are no substitute for proper maintenance. This is because in the event of sudden failure, carbon monoxide could kill you in your sleep. Sobering words today from Mr-Skill.
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Posted in Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
During the incredibly cold weather over Christmas and New Year everybody’s central heating systems and gas effect fires were maxed (and many probably still are) while the cooker worked overtime preparing roasts and curries. Unfortunately  not everybody knows what to do when a gas related problem occurs, usually after a long period of poor maintenance. If you are in any doubt at all about the safety of your equipment then you are urgently advised to find a Gas Fitter on Mr Skill.
As a homeowner or landlord you are responsible by law for the safe functioning of the gas fittings and appliances on your property, and are required to ensure that these are checked annually by a Gas Safe Registered Installer. Tenants are obliged to cooperate and to admit a Gas Repairperson whenever their services are required.
Each year people in the UK die unnecessarily from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improperly installed or maintained domestic gas systems. You cannot see, taste or smell it, yet it could kill you after just a few hours exposure. Symptoms of poisoning include headaches, difficulty in thinking clearly, and feeling tired and sick.
 If you suspect a problem …..
o Extinguish all open fires and cigarettes
o Switch off all heating and cooking appliances
o Open all doors and windows
o Consult a doctor at once
o Find a Gas Fitter registered with Gas Safe.
The best and only way to play safe in the long run is to get Gas Fitter quotes on Mr-Skill, and ask them inspect your home every year. Never try to do the inspections yourself – gas is too dangerous to take chances. Rather concentrate on enjoying a good sleep at night with no worries.
Tags: appliance, carbon monoxide, Central Heating, cigarettes, CO, cooker, cooking, doctor, doors, equipment, find a plumber, fitter, fitting, gas, gas fitter, gas related problem, gas safe, homeowner, installer, landlord, maintenance, plumber london, plumber quote, plumbing job london, plumbing quote, problem, safety, see, smell, symptoms, system, taste, windows
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 Hackney Council have been active in alerting their council housing tenants to the dangers of CO (Carbon Monoxide) and have supplied and fitted carbon monoxide alarms to safeguard their tenants from the silent killer. They have also followed up at each home fitted with the alarm with regular inspections and servicing, however when they had a high amount of alarms being triggered, the inspection team wanted to know if they had a faulty batch of CO detectors or something more sinister was going on in people’s homes.
It transpired to be a more common cause than anticipated. Certain forms of cooking were in fact triggering the alarms to go off as Carbon monoxide is produced when fossil fuels are burnt – i.e. charcoal, gas or oil – in an area without the correct amount of ventilation. This can cause a build up of carbon monoxide, which in turn can result in feelings of illness and even death. The council carried out an investigation and they found that the problems was caused by cooking oil in pans in badly ventilated kitchen areas starving the area of oxygen in turn creating a dangerous level of CO.
The CIPHE (The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering) and Carbon Monoxide Awareness Ltd recommend that areas are well ventilated and suggest not using aluminium foil inside trays under grill pans, as this stops the air flow in the cooking, despite it being a popular method of keeping drip trays clean.
If you have concerns about inadequate ventilation in your home, or would like a carbon monoxide detector installed in your kitchen, please speak with one of the local handymen in London featured in our Tradesmen’s Directory and attract competitive quotes from handymen in London with our “Post-a-Job” facility at the top of this page.
Tags: alarm detectors, carbon monoxide, cooking, fossil fuels, health, kitchen, security, ventilation
Posted in General Building, Handyman Services, Kitchen Fitting, Plumbing, Heating & Gas | Comments Off
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