Gas safety

If you have a faulty gas appliance, it can be dangerous and produce carbon monoxide gas. Exposure to carbon monoxide can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness and even death, so you should seek medical advice immediately if you have these symptoms.

Salix Homes installs carbon monoxide alarms in our properties which have an opened flued appliance such as a gas boiler, gas fire or wood burning fireplace.

Please contact us if you think it may not be working correctly or believe you should have one installed, but it is missing.

Unless it’s for medical reasons, you must not use or store compressed gas within your home or any communal areas.

Gas in cylinders can become a major hazard in a fire and must be stored safely at all times. If you are required to use and store compressed gas for medical reasons, for example oxygen, you must inform Salix Homes and the fire service.

You can call 0800 555 815 to arrange a Home Fire Safety Assessment with the Fire Service to discuss the safe storage of compressed gas.

Tampering with the gas meter in your home, known as ‘meter cheating’ is illegal and incredibly dangerous.

Damaging the gas supply risks dangerous leaks. Leaking gas is also highly flammable and can be easily ignited – flicking a light switch is all it takes to cause an explosion.

You can find out more about the risks involved with gas tampering on the Stay Energy Safe website.

• Make sure you know where your gas meter is located and how to turn off the gas supply in the event of an emergency
• Never cover an appliance such as a boiler or gas fire or block the air vents
• Never block or obstruct any fixed ventilation grilles or airbricks
• Never block or cover outside flues
• Never fit draught exclusion strips to doors of a room that contains a gas appliance
• Never use a gas appliance if you think it’s not working properly and never cover gas appliances

The annual gas safety check will include testing of all required gas appliances, pipe work, flues and smoke alarms in your home.

We will provide you with a copy of your gas safety certificate within 28 days of the check being completed.

The Gas Safety Record will contain details of any problems found at the time of the inspection, and any action that has been taken. If an appliance fails the safety check, it may be necessary to disconnect it. Our engineer will make the appliance safe whilst on site in this circumstance.

We will then contact you to discuss and agree any further actions and when we will complete them. If one of the appliances that you own is faulty, we will disconnect it and advise you to seek help from a qualified Gas Safe Registered engineer.

Any one of the following could be a sign that your gas appliance is faulty and may be producing carbon monoxide in your home:

• The flame on your cooker should be crisp and blue. Lazy yellow or orange flames mean you need to get your cooker checked
• Dark staining on or around gas appliances
• Pilot lights that frequently blow out
• Increased condensation inside windows

You should contact us immediately on 0800 218 2000 if you think that your gas appliance is not working properly.

If you have a gas supply meter fitted in your property, but do not have any gas appliances, we still need to inspect the pipework inside your home.