Monday 14 September 2015

Carbon Monoxide- Know The Risks And Signs plus Detector Giveaway

Today sees the start of Gas Safety Week. This is the time of year when we all start to get a bit chilly and the central heating gets switched back on for the first time in months - but has yours been checked? Build up of carbon deposits and dust inside the flue for the boiler can mean Carbon Monoxide is released into your home.

Carbon Monoxide is a silent danger. Colourless, tasteless and odourless it can make you very ill, or even in extreme cases suffocate you, often while you sleep. Each year in the UK around 200 people go to hospital with Carbon Monoxide poisoning and 40 of those will die.


Most cases of Carbon Monoxide poisoning occur because gas appliances and chimneys have not been properly maintained. As gas or other fuels burn, they use up Oxygen and release Carbon Dioxide. When the Carbon Dioxide gets to a high enough concentration in the room, the fuel doesn't burn efficiently and Carbon Monoxide is released. Good ventiliation is vital to ensure the Carbon Dioxide can escape properly and the fuel can burn properly.

Early signs of Carbon Monoxide poisoning are a headache and feeling woozy or unnaturally sleepy. Later signs are similar to food poisoning, with vomiting and stomach pain, shortness of breath, and eventually collapse.

If you feel you may have been affected by Carbon Monoxide poisoning then you need to get fresh air as quickly as possible. Open windows and doors, switch off any suspect appliances or dowse a fire with water to extinguish it. Go outside. Get medical attention if you still feel in any way unwell. Get your appliance serviced by a Gas Safe Registered Engineer before you use it again, or arrange for a chimney to be swept.

Corgi Homeplan have a list of warning signs you should watch for that can indicate you have a risk of Carbon Monoxide escape in your home: 

  • The flame on your cooker should be crisp and blue. Yellow or orange flames mean you need to get your cooker checked
  • Dark staining around or on appliances
  • Sooty marks on the walls around boilers, stoves or the cover of gas fires
  • Pilot lights that frequently go out
  • Increased condensation inside windows
There is more information on how to protect your family on the Corgi Homeplan Gas Safety Week page. For peace of mind and to ensure you stay safe after getting your appliances serviced, you can fit a Carbon Monoxide Detector. Much like a Smoke Alarm it will alert you and your family to the danger by emitting a loud alarm - and it could save your life.

One of my readers can help protect their family this Winter as Corgi Homeplan have offered a FireAngel Carbon Monoxide Detector worth £30 as a prize for one of my readers. Entry to the giveaway is via the Gleam form below. The giveaway will end at midnight on Sunday 11th October and open to UK readers only.

For all of my other giveaways please see my giveaways page...

Carbon Monoxide Detector Giveaway

All my own words - and I was not reimbursed for this post. Get your boiler checked!

84 comments:

  1. Gas fires, cooker and boiler

    ReplyDelete
  2. A gas fire, gas boiler, & a gas hob

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have a gas hob and boiler for hot water and central heating etc

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cooker hob and boiler for central heating hot water etc

    ReplyDelete
  5. just a gas fire and gas hob - both checked though

    ReplyDelete
  6. A boiler a cooker and an old gas fire which hasn't been used for a couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We have a gas boiler & gas fire & gas cooker

    ReplyDelete
  8. such a good competition - a must!

    ReplyDelete
  9. A gas cooker.

    ~ Anthony G

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've got a boiler, gas cooker, and 3 unused but still connected ancient gas fires in 3 different rooms! A pretty scary combination I think!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Combination boiler, gas fire and gas hob x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gas cooker, gas fire and. boiler.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Gas Fire, Gas Hob and Boiler this would be ideal for our house and to protect our children x

    ReplyDelete
  14. gas cooker, boiler and a gas fire.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gas Hob and Boiler

    ReplyDelete
  16. gas fire x2, boiler and gas cooker

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm all electric, so it's not a concern for me, but my Dad has a gas fire and boiler, and I do worry as he gets older

    ReplyDelete
  18. Boiler, cooker and a gas fire

    ReplyDelete
  19. a boiler and a gas hob. I used to have a gas fire but I had an issue with a blocked filter which exposed me to carbon monoxide. The fire was removed and I was put off getting another one so I just use radiators now.

    ReplyDelete
  20. We have a gas hob - we love it but it'd be good to know it's safe!

    ReplyDelete
  21. An old gas cooker (we don't use it any more but I guess it could still be dodgy!)

    ReplyDelete
  22. A very useful prize, I would put it in the kitchen where the boiler is.

    ReplyDelete
  23. An essential item for any home with gas appliances.

    ReplyDelete
  24. We have a combi boiler and a gas hob

    ReplyDelete
  25. Boiler and cooker

    ReplyDelete
  26. I have only a gas boiler and gas cooker rings - but that's enough.

    ReplyDelete
  27. We have a boiler and gas hobs. I find the hobs particularly scary because they have a wall power switch. If turned on while the switch is off, gas is released.

    ReplyDelete
  28. We have gas central heating (boiler) and a gas fire.. I never use the fire, but I do worry about the boiler sometimes. We always get ours checked every year!


    @Cloudyskies29 on twitter

    ReplyDelete
  29. We have a gas boiler and heating system.

    ReplyDelete
  30. We have a Gas Boiler and a Gas cooker

    ReplyDelete
  31. Boiler, hob and fire

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I read every one and try my best to reply!