Gas Safety Checks

Many of us depend on gas fired appliances to heat our homes, provide hot water and cook our food.

To make sure your appliances are in good condition and working safely, have all gas appliances in your property safety checked annually by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer.

Make sure you ask to see your engineer’s Gas Safe ID Card both front and back. The front will confirm their registration and identity, the back will confirm they can do the gas work you’ve employed them to do.

As part of any safety check ensure that the engineer carries out a tightness test of the pipework to ensure there are no gas leaks, and a visual inspection of accessible gas pipework should also be completed to ensure the installation is in good condition.

Look out for warning signs that a gas appliance isn’t working properly – lazy yellow flames, excessive condensation and black marks/stains.

However, gas appliances can be unsafe without displaying these symptoms, so best practice is to have them checked every year.

Buy an audible carbon monoxide alarm marked EN 50291 and install it (in accordance with manufacturer’s guidelines) near to your gas appliance. Alarms are a strong second line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning.

Use gas appliances for their intended purposes only, e.g. do not use a cooker to heat a room.

Provide enough ventilation for gas appliances to burn correctly and make sure no air vents or chimneys are blocked.

If you’re a tenant in a rented property, make sure your landlord provides you with an annual gas safety check.