The Gas Safe Register and Homes under the Hammer's, Lucy Alexander, have launched a new pod cast or 'pad cast', following research which revealed home buyers are risking their safety when it comes to gas appliances.
What does the research reveal?
The results of the survey revealed that the majority of home buyers would prioritise redecorating (27%) and fitting a new kitchen or bathroom (21%) over fitting a new boiler (12%).
However, turning a blind eye to boiler issues can be costly – around 3 in 10 UK homeowners have had to replace their boiler earlier than anticipated due to it being old or faulty.
Worryingly, 42% wrongly believe that sellers have a legal duty to provide a valid boiler servicing record. When you consider that 24% of Brits say they have either never had their boiler serviced or have not had it serviced once a year as recommend, this misconception is even more concerning.
Getting a full survey is crucial to help buyers understand the safety issues in their new home and 18% regret not getting a more comprehensive report.
New Gas Safe Register podcast
To address these misunderstandings, Gas Safe Register are recording a new podcast with Homes Under the Hammer presenter, Lucy Alexander, where they will provide homebuyers with useful safety tips as they move into their new homes.
Listen to “The New-Padcast” here
They’ve also produced a short video giving gas safety information to homebuyers – watch it here.
Jonathan Samuel, chief executive of Gas Safe Register, said:
“Gas appliances can be dangerous if they’re not looked after, so it’s important to ensure you know if the boiler in the home you are planning to purchase has been serviced or fixed by someone who is legally registered and qualified to do so.”
Download Gas Safe Register’s Infographic – “Buying a New Home”
How can you keep your customers safe?
Here are six simple steps from Gas Safe Register to help keep families safe in their homes:
- Only use a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- Double check both sides of your engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card to know that they’re registered and qualified to work on your gas appliances.
- Have all gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year.
- Familiarise yourself with the six signs of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning; headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness.
- Check appliances for warning signs that they are not working properly, e.g. black marks or stains on or around the appliance, lazy yellow flames instead of crisp blue ones (excluding fuel effect fires which display this colour flame) and condensation in the room.
- Fit an audible carbon monoxide alarm for a second line of defence against carbon monoxide poisoning.
This is potentially lifesaving information that gas engineers should be passing onto their customers.
To find out more about the dangers posed by unsafe gas appliances, visit www.StayGasSafe.co.uk
Logic4training delivers a range of domestic Gas ACS courses.
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