Carbon Monoxide | Staying Safe and Warm at Home: Top 10 Tips for Staying Safe and Warm at Home
As winter approaches, the warmth of our homes becomes increasingly important. However, this comfort can come with hidden dangers, particularly in the form of carbon monoxide (CO). This invisible threat, often called the “silent killer,” is a colourless and odourless gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels like natural gas, propane, oil, coal, or wood. Ensuring your home’s safety while staying cosy is crucial for protecting yourself and your loved ones.
Although Rockall Safety doesn’t sell CO monitors for home use, we are deeply committed to ensuring safety in all environments. We believe that everyone deserves to feel secure, whether at home, at work, or on the go.
What is Carbon Monoxide?
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, and tasteless gas that can be extremely dangerous, even at low concentrations. It is produced when carbon-containing fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, and wood, are burned incompletely. This often occurs in poorly ventilated spaces, such as garages, basements, or camping tents. When inhaled, CO binds to haemoglobin in the blood, preventing it from carrying oxygen to the body’s tissues.
Follow these ten simple steps to ensure your home remains safe and warm:
- Always hire a Gas Safe registered engineer to install, repair, or service your appliances. You can verify an engineer’s credentials at GasSafeRegister.co.uk or by calling 0800 408 5500.
- Check both sides of your engineer’s Gas Safe ID card. Ensure they are qualified for the specific work you need—this information can be found on the back of their card.
- Service and safety-check all gas appliances annually. If you’re renting, ask your landlord for a copy of the current Gas Safety Record.
- Be aware of the six symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning: headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse, and unconsciousness. Faulty gas appliances can lead to CO poisoning, gas leaks, fires, and explosions.
- Inspect your gas appliances for signs of malfunction, such as lazy yellow flames (instead of crisp blue ones), black marks or stains near the appliance, and excessive condensation in the room.
- Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm, which will alert you if CO is present in your home.
- Keep vents and chimneys clear. Don’t block any vents, as they’re essential for proper gas appliance function. Regularly clean and check chimneys.
- Use gas appliances as intended. Avoid using gas cookers or other appliances for purposes they weren’t designed for, such as heating a room.
- Know the emergency procedure. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, familiarise yourself with the emergency procedure and contact the appropriate number for your region.
- Share this gas safety information with friends, family, and neighbours to help keep your community safe.
Finding the right Gas Engineer
Finding a gas engineer to service or repair your gas appliances is easy, you get your phone out and search for gas engineers and voila, plenty of advertised gas engineers. How many of these are qualified for the job you need them to do though?
Remember, Gas Safe Register is the only official registration body of gas businesses and engineers in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey. By law, all gas businesses must be on the Gas Safe Register.
Using the Gas Safe Register website ensures you have up to date, detailed information on businesses and individual engineers’ qualifications.
Understanding the Gas Safe ID card
All Gas Safe registered engineers will carry an ID card which details who they are and what they are qualified to work on. You can find more information about the Gas Safe ID card at the link below:
https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gas-safety/the-gas-safe-id-card/
Finding a Gas Safe engineer
On our homepage and other selected pages throughout our website, you will see the below search box.
To find an engineer it’s as simple as putting your postcode in the search field and clicking search. You can also select domestic and commercial depending on whether you are looking for an engineer for a home or for a business.
The search results are listed by distance from a geographically centred point. If you searched for a postcode starting RG11, we use a geographical point at the centre of RG11and work outwards showing results based on distance.
Using a specific postcode will always get you results closer to your location.
On your results page you will see a list of businesses each with its own panel. An example of this can be seen below.
The links to View Services will give you a full list of the types of gas services that this business can offer. Viewing the engineers allows you to view individual engineers and their qualifications – more on this in the finding specific qualifications section next.
Finding specific qualifications
Our advanced search functionality allows you to search for engineers that hold specific qualifications. We have a range of options that can be used to filter the results once you have made your initial search.
For example, you can filter by LPG or Natural Gas, Domestic or Commercial and by a range of appliance types that the business or engineer is qualified to work on.
The appliance type filter includes a wide range of appliance types that match engineer qualifications dependant on which fuel type is selected – so be sure to do this first. By selecting one or more of these you will be filtering the potential engineer results by these qualifications and can be used where a specific need is found. For example, finding and engineer qualified to work specifically on LPG cookers on domestic boats.
Checking a Gas Safe engineer
Checking an engineer or business is as simple as clicking on check and entering the person or business you’d like to check.
Image above shows “Check” selection active.
Using the Check feature on our site enables you to:
- Check an engineer by ID
- Check an engineer by name
- Check a business by ID
- Check a business by name
- Check a business by phone number
Once you’ve entered your query and clicked search, you may be presented with the screen shown below. Please note that if you searched by engineer ID or business ID this screen will likely not show.
Select the appropriate options and the search will continue. If a one or more results are found these will be presented to you.
Conclusion
By following these top ten tips, you can significantly reduce the risks associated with gas appliances in your home, ensuring that you and your loved ones stay safe and warm. Regular maintenance, awareness of potential dangers, and proper use of gas appliances are crucial steps in preventing accidents and health hazards like carbon monoxide poisoning. Remember, safety is a shared responsibility—so take the time to educate yourself and others in your community. With these precautions in place, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that your home is secure.
Get in contact with Rockall Safety today to discuss CO detectors for industrial use.
Read about Katie Haines’ Story here.
