Gas Safety Week 2024: Every Check Counts

Gas Safety Week 2024 is here, marking the 13^th year of this vital campaign to keep homes across the UK safe. This year's theme is “Checking – Every Check Counts,” a message that resonates deeply with all of us at Gasway and Blueflame. Whether it's checking your gas appliances, ensuring your carbon monoxide (CO) alarms are functioning, or verifying that your engineer is Gas Safe registered, every check—big or small—helps to safeguard lives.

The week kicked off with the reminder that every check counts. This applies not only to the equipment in your home but also to the professionals you hire to work on your gas appliances. Here’s a quick guide to ensure you’re taking all the right steps:

• Check your gas appliances: Are they due for a service? Gas appliances should be serviced annually to maintain safety and efficiency.
• Check your CO alarm: Make sure it’s functioning properly and replace batteries when needed.
• Check your engineer's Gas Safe ID card: Before any work begins, ask to see your engineer's card to ensure they are licensed to perform the job.

One of the biggest dangers of not properly maintaining gas appliances is the risk of CO poisoning, gas leaks, fires, and explosions. Unsafe appliances can emit carbon monoxide—a deadly, odourless gas that can kill within minutes if undetected.

This day is dedicated to raising awareness of these risks. Last year in What to Do If Your Boiler Breaks Down, we covered how unchecked appliances can lead to dangerous situations like gas leaks and appliance malfunctions.

Here are some quick tips to avoid unsafe gas appliances:

• Service your boiler annually: A routine check by a Gas Safe registered engineer will ensure your boiler is working safely.
• Install and maintain CO alarms: These alarms are crucial in detecting CO leaks early. Be sure to check them regularly to ensure they’re operational.

Watch out for warning signs: If your gas appliance has a lazy yellow flame, black marks around it, or is causing excessive condensation, it may be unsafe.

Gas safety isn’t just important for homeowners—tenants and landlords have responsibilities too. Landlords are legally required to have all gas appliances checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and tenants should never assume that just because they’re renting, their home is automatically gas-safe.

Tenants: Ensure your landlord provides you with a copy of the gas safety record after each annual check. Landlords: It’s your responsibility to arrange these checks and keep records, ensuring tenants know where to find the gas safety certificate.

Thursday’s focus is on avoiding illegal gas fitters. This is a key message, as hiring unregistered engineers can have disastrous consequences. In fact, some of the worst cases of unsafe gas appliances arise from work carried out by illegal fitters. It might save money in the short term, but the risks involved are not worth it.

Just last year, we shared the unfortunate story of Rachel Broad and Ian Fellows, who fell victim to an illegal gas fitter. Their boiler and cooker installations were so dangerous that they were classified as 'Immediately Dangerous'. Read the full case study in our Dangers of Using Illegal Gas Workers article.

To stay safe:

• Always ask to see an engineer’s Gas Safe ID before allowing any work to begin.
• If in doubt, check the Gas Safe Register online to verify the engineer’s credentials.

Gas safety is a shared responsibility. Whether you're living alone or with family, it’s essential to check in on your loved ones to ensure they’re gas safe too. Sometimes elderly relatives or busy families might forget to schedule their annual gas safety checks or overlook warning signs of unsafe appliances.

• Check their gas appliances: Make sure all gas appliances in their homes have been serviced recently.
• Check their CO alarms: Ensure that the CO alarms are installed and working properly.
• Check their engineer: If they’re having gas work done, ensure the engineer is Gas Safe registered.

This simple check-in could prevent a potential disaster. In last year’s How to Be Gas Safe with DIY article, we shared several tips on how to protect loved ones from gas-related dangers.

The temptation to DIY is strong, especially with home improvement projects. However, gas work should never be attempted as a DIY job. Whether it's installing a new boiler or moving a gas cooker, these tasks should only be performed by qualified, Gas Safe registered engineers.

A worrying statistic from last year revealed that 1 in 5 British homeowners had either completed or planned to complete DIY gas work. However, even small mistakes could lead to fatal consequences.

If you’re unsure whether your gas appliances are safe after a DIY project, it’s better to call a professional. In our Don’t Complete DIY on Gas Appliances article from last year, we explained how even non-gas-related home projects, like building an extension, can lead to dangerous gas appliance faults.

As the colder months approach, it’s essential to prepare your home’s gas appliances for winter. A broken boiler or gas leak can leave you without heat at the most inconvenient time.

Here’s a checklist to get your home winter-ready:

• Service your boiler before winter sets in: Don’t wait until the middle of December to discover a problem.
• Check your CO alarms: Colder months mean more time indoors, so ensure your home is protected from CO leaks.
• Bleed your radiators: Proper maintenance will ensure your heating system runs smoothly all winter long.

For more tips, revisit last year’s Winter Safety Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to keep your home gas safe through the colder months.

Gas Safety Week 2024 also features a special video that showcases the importance of regular gas checks. The film has a lighthearted approach but with a heartfelt message—reminding us just how disruptive and inconvenient a broken gas appliance can be.

At Gasway and Blueflame, we're proud to support Gas Safety Week 2024 and encourage everyone to take the theme "Every Check Counts" seriously. By making small checks a part of your routine, you can prevent larger, potentially life-threatening problems down the road.

For more detailed information and further resources, don’t forget to explore our past articles, including What to Do If Your Boiler Breaks Down and How to Reset Your Boiler. Let's make Gas Safety Week 2024 a reminder that staying safe is everyone’s responsibility.