The Importance of Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

The safety of our customers is of utmost importance to us at Chaps – this blog explains the importance of having working, reliable smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in your home/in your tenanted properties (if you’re a landlord).

We are all taught from a young age the dangers of fire and therefore we are likely to ensure our smoke detector is working. Although, it is very easy to forget about as a smoke detector is one of those appliances that we don’t notice every day, it sits there silently until we burn a bit of toast… It is very important that you check your smoke detector regularly to ensure it is reliable and doing its job.

Landlords and Tenants

By law a smoke detector must be installed on every floor of a property where a room is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and carbon monoxide alarms must be installed in any room containing a solid fuel-burning appliance such as a wood burner, coal fire or biomass.

On the first day of a new tenancy the landlord/letting agent must make sure the alarms are tested and in working order.*

Carbon Monoxide Awareness

What is carbon monoxide (CO)?

CO is an odourless, colourless poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood and coal.** Don’t worry, carbon fuels are safe to use, it’s just when they’re not burnt properly that they release the harmful CO.

Signs of CO Leakage

There are a few signs you can look out for which may indicate that incomplete combustion is occurring in your boiler:

  • Soot or yellow/brown staining on or around appliances
  • Increased condensation inside windows
  • Pilot lights keep going out
  • Yellow or orange rather than blue flames (except fuel effect fires or flueless appliances which display this colour flame).

It is important to keep a regular eye on your boiler so that you can recognise these signs before it is too late. This is one of the main reasons annual boiler services are undertaken – if your boiler is due a service book it in now. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Follow this link to find out the full symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, here are just a few to be aware of:

  • Headaches or dizziness
  • Nausea
  • Breathlessness
  • Erratic behaviour

If you or other members of the household are displaying these symptoms please act immediately:

  1. Call an ambulance if you or a member of the household is unconscious/having difficulty breathing
  2. Switch off the faulty appliance and shut off the gas supply at the meter control valve
  3. Open all doors/windows to ventilate the space
  4. Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999
  5. Visit your GP if you feel you have been exposed to CO

How can Chaps help?

At Chaps install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors – so if you don’t have one already, let us know and we can get an installation booked in now.

We also test and provide Gas Safety Certificates to landlords once we’re happy their appliances are safe to use

References:

*https://www.propertymark.co.uk/advice-and-guides/landlords/safety-it-s-more-than-smoke-alarms-and-gas-checks.aspx

**https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/co.htm

Throughout our many years in the central heating and plumbing industry we have learnt from our customers that trust is everything. At Chaps we aim to ensure our customers receive a fantastic service and are 100% happy with the work carried out.

 

Why is it important to trust the companies you choose?

1. Your home is your haven When hiring a plumber, boiler engineer, bathroom fitter or central heating installer you are allowing this company to enter into your home; you’re allowing someone to enter into your life bubble. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the people working for you are trustworthy and respectful.

2. You’re a paying customer There’s no worse feeling than handing over a sum of money for a service or product that you’re not happy with. Investing in a new boiler, fitting a bathroom and looking after your central heating system are all essential elements to ensuring your home is perfect. However, these necessities can be expensive. You hear all these sayings: ‘buy cheap, buy twice’, ‘you get what you pay for’… when looking into plumbing companies you need to make the decision as to what you value most. A top-quality product? A top quality service? Both? A lot of the time it is better to pay that little bit extra to ensure you get the service you require.

3. It’s a long-term investment/relationship A boiler installation, brand new bathroom and your central heating system are long term investments. A boiler for example needs to be serviced annually and will last you a long time, if it’s cared for properly. Therefore, building a strong relationship with your central heating and plumbing company is essential to a stress-free future.

4. Life is stressful enough without added disappointment Have you ever experienced a really poor service? It gives you that horrible disappointed feeling, you feel cheated and hurt. Life is stressful enough as it is, we are all balancing work and family life, and it often feels like you’re spinning too many plates! Therefore, choosing a trustworthy company to carry out a service takes away that extra worry and disappointment.

5. Why settle for second best? Like we’ve said already, life is already stressful, so why compromise when choosing a company and service? Have a shop around, look at reviews and compare, this way you can make an informed decision on the companies you choose to work with.

A little bit about Chaps

Chaps is a central heating and plumbing company based in Henley-on-Thames, we have a team of engineers and dedicated office staff. We pride ourselves on the top-quality service we provide to our customers – not only are our engineers experts in their field but respect all our customers and their properties. Our surveyors are available for free quotes and the office books in appointments for our customers. Nick McLeod is the founder of Chaps; he is an integral part of the engineering and office teams and is a frequent tea-maker! So, when it does come to investing a new boiler, bathroom or central heating system, trust Chaps.

What our customers think of Chaps

“We have used Chaps for over 20 years. Their service has been consistently excellent.” Checkatrade, October 2019   “Well communicated by office. Plumber smart and polite, explained everything. Sorted heating out, used Chaps before, will use again.” Checkatrade, October 2019   “Very thorough – explained everything that had been done and anything that might need attention in the future.” Checkatrade, August 2019

See more of our Checkatrade reviews here.