Carbon Monoxide Poisoning -- The Facts

Each year more than 250 people in the UK are accidentally poisoned in their homes by carbon monoxide gas from a boiler or cooker. On average, around 50 of these poisonings will be fatal - although some sources suggest the number of fatalities to be higher. Of those who survive a significant number end up enduring long-term injuries and disability that stay with them for the rest of their lives.

 

Nausea, headaches, dizziness and tiredness are the common symptoms to look out for. If you're feeling ill in your home but feel better outside, at work or on holiday, you could very well be suffering the effects of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning. Frighteningly, exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide wreaks havoc very quickly. Within a couple of minutes of exposure we could suffer serious illness. A few minutes later we could lose consciousness or worse.

 

The statistics certainly make grim reading - and the chief reason why is that carbon monoxide, to all intents and purposes, is invisible to the human senses. You can't smell it. You can't see it. You can't taste it. Basically, if you don't know that it is there you may not realise that you've been poisoned until it's too late!

 

The causes of carbon monoxide poisoning

 

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of burning fossil fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood. When burning takes place in a confined space or in a room without adequate ventilation, the oxygen in the air is used up in the burning process. This results in the release of carbon dioxide (Co2).

 

Carbon dioxide, while not poisonous in itself in this situation, does hinder the supply of oxygen reaching the burning fuel. This in turn makes the burning process inefficient. Fuel that is not fully combusted then begins to throw carbon monoxide out into the air. The silent killer is unleashed.

 

In the home gas burning and wood burning appliances have the most potential to bring about carbon monoxide poisoning. Gas stoves, gas boilers, wood burners, open coal fires and gas heaters all pose a risk, that is unless you take preventative action to tackle the threat.

 

Top safety tips

 

Regular safety checks on your fuel burning appliances is the solution that will stop you from becoming another carbon monoxide poisoning statistic.

 

First up check the flame colour of your gas appliances. The flame should burn a brilliant blue. If it burns more orange than blue then you have a problem. Switch the appliance off and call out a gas engineer immediately. For gas boilers and gas fires do get a corgi-registered engineer to service the appliances every year.

 

Gas flues should be checked to make sure that they are not blocked. It is not that uncommon for birds to choose the end of a flue pipe as a nesting site. This could restrict outflow of carbon monoxide fumes and lead to a build up of the deadly gas around the vented appliance. Likewise, if you have a chimney running off an open fireplace do keep a regular eye out for nesting birds. Employing the services of a chimney sweep can help you out here.

 

Check too that your air bricks and vents are free from blockages. This is especially important in your kitchen area and any other room where you have gas appliances or a gas boiler.

For the ultimate preventative measure do install a carbon monoxide detector in every room of your home where there is a fuel burning appliance. Detectors cost between £10 and £20 each and are fitted to the ceiling in the same way as a smoke alarm. It's a small price to pay for equipment that could end up saving your life.

 

 

Time for a Central Heating Check Up

When the leaves on the trees don their gold and crimson jackets it's a sure sign that winter is just around the corner. Cold days and frosty nights will soon be with us, coercing the central heating system in your property to start working overtime.  But, before the heating switch is 'thrown in anger' for the first time this winter, it is more than worth having the system checked over by a professional. A full central heating check up will reveal any potential glitches in your heating system - glitches that could give you a real headache in the depths of winter if left unchecked.

Potential Central Heating Troubles
Central heating systems are very much like cars. They're great when they are working, but to keep them humming along efficiently they need regular care and attention.
Neglecting the central heating system in your property is just inviting trouble. Anything from blocked pipes to carbon monoxide poisoning from the boiler could surface as a result. And believe me, if it is the latter, you'll be doing more than just kicking yourself for not having had your central heating system serviced this year.
So, what does a central heating check up involve? Ideally it should comprise the following inspection points…
Boiler: Efficiency of the boiler's heat exchangers should be checked, along with the boiler's seals and ignition system. Importantly, the boiler's burners must be scrutinised. If the burners are not fully consuming fuel a build up of lethal carbon monoxide may well be underway.
Flues & Ventilation: Flues and vents must be examined to ensure that they are free from obstruction. A flue blockage may cause a deadly cocktail of flue gases to collect in the room where the boiler is located.
Pump: The pump is at the heart of a property's hot water system. An inspection should make sure that it is operating as efficiently as possible. Sludge and lime scale are the chief culprits of pump inefficiency. These deposits reduce heat output from radiators in the property, beginning with the radiators furthest away from the pump.
Radiators: Radiators too may suffer from the build up of sludge and lime scale deposits. If the lower portion of a radiator remains cold when the central heating is on, it is likely that sludge and lime scale are to blame.
Should the opposite be true - that is the top section of the radiator is cool when the heating system is switched on - trapped air in the radiator unit is most probably the cause. This can easily be remedied by bleeding the radiator(s) in question.
Feed & Expansion Tank: Normally located in the property's loft space, the feed and expansion tank is an integral part of the central heating system. The ball valve and washer are subject to wear and erosion over time. This may lead to water leakage into the tank and out through the overflow pipe.
Central Heating Service Solution for Landlords
For landlords, keeping abreast of central heating checks is just one of the many commitments that must be juggled in an industry fraught with red tape. If your property has a gas-fired boiler you are of course obligated by law to subject it to an annual safety check courtesy of a CORGI registered engineer.
Forgetting, or worse, choosing not to book a gas safety check and central heating service could, quite literally, land you in hot water. Not only will you have unhappy tenants and quite possibly a large repair bill, you could, in the case of lapsing on your annual gas safety check, be fined and imprisoned.
Central heating service providers understand this, and is the reason why landlords are offered annual service contracts on their boilers and central heating systems. When the consequences are considered, skipping out on your boiler and central heating check up this year is simply not worth the risk.
© Pacedream Limited 18/0/2007 Tel: 08456 980044 Fax: 020 82111 782

Burning down the house!

Fire Kills - but YOU can prevent it. That is the leading campaign message championed in unison by government and the UK's Fire and Rescue Services. It is a message that is being heard loud and clear, and with increasing effect - in 2005 deaths caused by fire in the UK were down to their lowest level for 46 years.

 

The reason for this impressive decrease is obvious when you look at the government's fire statistics. Figures show that there are now more homes fitted with smoke alarms than ever before in the UK. Compared with 20 years ago this represents a ten-fold jump in smoke alarm ownership.

 

Still, there is much work to do in terms of promoting smoke alarm awareness. Not only are hundreds of thousands of homeowners and tenants exposed to fire hazards without any sort of smoke alarm device installed in their properties, but a significant number of householders who do have alarms fail to maintain their units, or even check that they are working properly. Is it time you had a look at your smoke alarm needs?

 

Choosing a smoke alarm

 

There are essentially two types of smoke alarm on the market today - ionisation alarms and optical alarms.

 

Ionisation alarms are the cheapest and most readily available. They are highly sensitive to smoke particles and will sound the alarm whenever a threshold number of particles enter the unit's ionisation chamber. But be warned - these types of alarms are easily set off by extraneous smoke from cooking. It is therefore best to place any ionisation alarm that you have well away from the kitchen area, otherwise you may find yourself constantly wafting a tea towel at it!

Optical smoke alarms are the alternative. These units sense fire by using an infrared emitting diode and photo diode to detect smoke particles entering the diode housing chamber. When the light beams are broken the alarm sounds.

 

For smouldering fires, such as those that involve the burning of foam-filled furniture, optical smoke alarms are the best. They can pick up on these sorts of fires much more quickly than an ionisation unit can.

 

Fire safety officers do recommend that both types of alarm be installed in your property. But, if you can't afford both, one alarm is better than none!

 

When making your choice you should also consider the volume of the alarm. All alarms have a a decibel (dBA) rating. This generally ranges from 55dBA (quietest) to 90dBA (loudest). In a normal situation where the alarm is needed to wake healthy adults from a deep sleep at 4am, an alarm of 55dBA to 65dBA will do the job. But, if you are hard of hearing a louder alarm is recommended.

 

Just to be sure that your smoke alarm will wake you from a deep sleep it is worth testing it out in your own home. You could have someone set off the alarm during the night to see if or how quickly you wake up. If you sleep through the noise, you need a louder alarm!

 

 

Positioning your smoke alarm

 

As smoke always rises a smoke alarm performs best if it is secured to the ceiling. Ideally, you should have at least one smoke alarm per floor of your property. These should be located in common access areas, such as on your landing and hallway or at the foot of your stairs.

 

For total peace of mind it is worth considering positioning a smoke alarm in every room where there is a large electrical appliance. This includes lounge areas and bedrooms.

 

Once installed, check your smoke alarms on a regular basis. Use the 'test' button on the alarm unit to make sure it is in good working order every week; change the battery every year, and replace the units completely at least once every ten years. Oh, and if you have the decorators in, do make a special effort to check your alarm after they've gone. If there's been dust flying about they might have removed the battery to stop it constantly going off.

Remember - a smoke alarm is only of any use if it actually works!