Spot the warning signs that a gas appliance is not working properly

If you spot any of the following signs, you should schedule a gas safety check immediately:

  • If your gas appliance isn’t working properly
  • If your gas appliance produces a floppy yellow flame rather than a crisp blue flame
  • Black/brown marks on or around the gas appliance
  • Increased condensation inside the window
  • Error messages indicated on front display of appliance

Signs such as these indicate that your gas appliances need servicing. By having your own appliances serviced and maintained regularly by a Gas Safe Registered engineer this will prevent your appliances becoming potentially dangerous and will minimise the risks of any gas-related incidents.

As we receive a number of calls through the contact centre of residents receiving communication from Morgan Lambert regarding arranging an audit visit and whether this is legitimate, we should include something like the following and the purpose behind these audits:

Independent Auditing following our engineer visit.

Post inspections are the most common method of assessing the quality of works within the social housing sector. We use Morgan Lambert, who provide a complete service for auditing of landlord gas safety records and EICR Electrical checks completed by our engineers and subcontractors. This ensures that these checks are completed to a high standard and that our engineers are fully compliant with The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

Within the existing information sheet, it advises resident what to do in the event they suspect a carbon monoxide leak however, we should include what to do in the event that the resident smells gas. Again, bullet points need to ensure these actions are clear and concise. I have added a sentence advising for residents to know where to isolate their gas supply in the event of a reported gas leak especially within flats as they should have an additional isolation valve within the property if their meter is sited externally.

What should you do if you smell gas?

  • Extinguish all naked flames, do not smoke or light matches.
  • Do not turn on/off electrical switches
  • Open doors and windows
  • Turn off the gas meter at the emergency control valve
  • Call Cadent Gas (Emergency Service Provider) on 0800 111 999

Check you know where your gas meter is and how to turn off the gas supply in an emergency.

If reporting a smell of gas to Emergency Service Provider you would be asked to turn off the gas at the emergency control valve by the meter, which could be located in various places inside or outside the home. Make sure you know where it is and how to open any meter housing!

What should you do if you suspect carbon monoxide?

  • Open all doors and windows
  • Move outside into fresh air
  • Call Cadent Gas (Emergency Service Provider)  on 0800 111 999

It is important that the Carbon Monoxide section advising the symptoms are in place however, we should advise that if the customer feels unwell then they should see their doctor immediately or go to hospital.