If your home has gas appliances, it‘s essential you make sure your house is gas safe. With gas appliances, any malfunction can be catastrophic and potentially deadly. If you’re in any doubt about the appliances in your home, you should immediately call an engineer on the Gas Safe Register to come and double check.

We’ve mentioned the Gas Safe Register before on this blog, and they play a big part in making your home gas safe. The reason being that in the UK all gas engineers are required by law to be registered. Any engineer you have visit should have their Gas Safety Register ID with them to confirm they are qualified to do the job. If they don’t, don’t risk it.

Any heating engineer should have their Gas Safety Register ID with them to confirm they are qualified to do the job. If they don’t, don’t risk it.

And you should be having an engineer over at least annually to check all your gas appliances. This yearly check-up is the best way to make sure everything is functioning as it should, and to catch any potential dangers early – before it's too late. At the same time, you should get your gas pipes checked. If you’re a landlord then having your pipes checked on an annual basis is in fact the law¹, to make sure your tenants are safe.

Beyond regular check-ups, there are warning signs to look out for. Any of these can be an indicator that one of your gas appliances is faulty and needs professional attention.

Obviously if a gas appliance stops working that tends to be a give-away that there is an error. If you have an appliance with a gas flame you want to make sure that the flame is a strong blue flame, and not what the Gas Register characterise as a “lazy yellow” flame. This can be an indicator that the gas supply is compromised.

A 'lazy yellow' flame can be an indicator of an issue with the gas supply

If the pilot light on your boiler keeps going out this is also a sign of a fault and should be checked immediately. Likewise, if any of your gas appliances develop any black marks or stains. Finally, be aware of rooms that have higher levels of condensation than normal, as this too can be a sign of a gas malfunction.

Rooms with higher than normal levels of condensation could also indicate gas malfunction

You should also make sure that you’re aware of the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. These include headaches, nausea, breathlessness and the feelings of being dizzy². If you’re worried about any of these you should contact a professional and vacate the premises.

To put your mind at ease when it comes to carbon monoxide you should purchase a loud carbon monoxide alarm. These are relatively inexpensive and can literally be lifesavers.

Of course, finally, if you aren’t sure where to find a qualified gas engineer you can book one through Local Heroes. Not only can you be sure they’re qualified, you can also rest assured they will be great at their jobs too.