Nearly a third of people in Norwich found to be using unsafe gas appliances
The Gas Safe Register say we should check our appliances to avoid nasty surprises this winter
Last updated 16th Jan 2022
We're all being encouraged to make sure our boilers and kitchen appliances are fit for purpose this winter.
After research from the Gas Safe Register found nearly a third of people in Norwich were using unsafe equipment.
While findings from CO-Gas Safety shows there's been 19 deaths from Carbon-Monoxide poisoning in Norfolk, over the last 25 years.
Bob Kerr from the Gas Safe Register says leaving this for later could have serious consequences and there's plenty of reasons to check now: "Those individuals that don't get an appliance checked, it could actually cost at least ÂŁ1800 for the year to get things rectified.
"It could in fact be more if a boiler has to be replaced, it could got up to ÂŁ2,500, just for the sake of making sure on a yearly basis that that appliances are checked from an efficiency point of view and most importantly from a safety perspective.
"Those little niggles from your house will tell you there's something wrong with it, don't put that off. It will cost you more in the long-run both from a financial perspective and maybe from a safety perspective, because at the end of the day if we have a boiler that is dangerous that could be life threatening and that needs to be taken care of immediately".
He concluded by outlining a range of tell-tale indicators that shows all is not well: "Looking at the appliance itself, is there a lazy yellow flames instead of a blue crisp one, if you can actually see the burner on the boiler.
"If around the appliance you can see staining or sooting ,or in fact the room the appliance is in has a lot of condensation all of the time, then that's normally a sign of carbon monoxide and action needs to be taken very, very quickly".