How to Make Sure Your Gas Boiler is Safe
Gas boilers pose a number of threats to human health, as any plumber in Glasgow will tell you. What you need to know is how to keep your boiler safe. The biggest threat to you is the silent killer known as carbon monoxide. Gas boilers that have not undergone proper maintenance are at risk of releasing carbon monoxide into the air, which can lead to death.
In this article, we have worked with the professionals from Plumbtex24.co.uk to give you a comprehensive guide on how to go about keeping your gas boiler safe.
What are the Main Risks?
A central heating system running on gas can pose a major safety risk to your home and anyone in it. Faulty boilers or boilers where the flues are leaky or blocked can release carbon monoxide.
The problem with carbon monoxide is you cannot taste it in the air and it does not smell of anything. This is why it is important to have carbon monoxide detectors installed in any home with a gas central heating system. It may just save your life.
How Can I Detect Carbon Monoxide?
Okay, we have already spoken about how carbon monoxide detectors are essential, but there are other ways to find out if carbon monoxide is present. Let us look at some of the most common risk factors for carbon monoxide:
1. the gas flame should be burning blue – if it’s yellow or orange, your boiler is faulty
2. you can see sooty stains on applications burning the fuel
3. your appliances are struggling to maintain their temperatures
4. fires are hard to light
5. the chimney or flue is blocked.
Take note, these symptoms could indicate entirely different problems, but they are warning signs telling you to act.
What to Do in the Event of Damage
Act immediately if you suspect there is a chance you have a carbon monoxide leak. Most plumbers in Glasgow have a service where you can call them out completely free of charge. This is because a carbon monoxide outbreak does not just damage your household. It could damage your whole street, and even lead to explosions.
Keeping Your Boiler Safe
Conduct annual maintenance on your boiler. By law, any boilers have to be inspected each year by a gas engineer possessing a Gas Safety Inspection Certificate (CP12).
You should also make sure you are dealing only with professionals. Whenever you work with a plumber, ensure that they have a strong history of carrying out repairs in a manner that is both safe and efficient.
If your boiler is older than fifteen years, you should think about replacing it. Older boilers are far more likely to be faulty. Furthermore, you could actually save money by replacing your boiler because newer boilers on the market are more efficient.
Overall, you should never take the potential for carbon monoxide exposure lightly. If you have even an inkling that something is wrong, act immediately. It does not matter if it turns out nothing is wrong because you know you’ve done your part to keep yourself and your family safe.
