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Gas safety is extremely important. Since every modern home is equipped with expensive furniture, upholstery, and fittings, you need to follow gas safety essentials to ensure that nothing gets damaged due to a gas explosion.
Whether you own the property or are renting it, you have to be compliant with gas safety regulations. The last thing you want is for a fire to burn the latest furniture in your home.
If you do not know the gas safety essentials and are on the lookout for valuable tips, you have come to the right place. This post shares the top gas safety tips for furniture, upholstery, and fittings. Let’s get started.
1. Only Use Gas Appliances for Their Intended Purpose
One of the most important tips for keeping your furniture, upholstery, and fittings in excellent condition is by ensuring that gas appliances are only used for their intended purpose. You should never tamper with gas appliances as it can prove fatal.
Only use the gas appliances when necessary. It will help avoid the possibility of an emergency. When you decide to use an appliance, you must monitor it to reduce the risk of an explosion or fire. It will keep the furniture in your home safe.
2. Know the Warning Signs
Next, you need to know the warning signs. You must keep the heating system healthy. Look for any black marks, clunking noises, cracks, or leaks to prevent gas-related hazards.
Regularly check for these warning signs to stay safe. In addition to checking inside your home, you should also check outside to make sure that no external vent is blocked. The fact is that unsafe gas appliances give off deadly carbon monoxide. It is a silent killer.
The following symptoms might suggest that there is a gas leak.
- Falling Unconscious
- Confused Behaviour
- Breathlessness
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Headaches
3. Get Appliances Checked When You Move
Have you just moved to a new home and are shopping for new furniture? It is important that you also get all the appliances checked. The worst mistake that you can make is assuming that the appliances are safe when you move to a new place.
There is also a possibility that the new property has some existing appliances. Make sure to get these checked, as well as unsafe gas appliances that cause carbon monoxide poisoning, explosions, and fires. Hire a professional to get all the appliances thoroughly checked.
4. Ensure Proper Ventilation
A gas safety essential that you cannot afford to overlook is ensuring proper ventilation. Each gas appliance should have adequate ventilation to operate correctly. None of the air vents inside your property should be blocked.
Without a fresh supply of air, the gas appliances cannot burn properly. This is especially true during winter as you might think about blocking ventilation.
5. Get a Fire Extinguisher and Learn How to Use It
Another gas safety essential to consider is getting a fire extinguisher and learning how to use it. Although precaution is necessary, you need to know what to do in case things go out of hand. A fire extinguisher is a must-have for every modern home.
The best way to protect your valuable furniture, upholstery, and fittings is to prevent the fire from escalating. This is where a fire extinguisher comes in handy. You can ask a friend to teach you how to use it.
6. Keep Expensive Furniture and Inflammable Objects Away from the Boiler
Next, it is wise to keep expensive furniture and inflammable objects away from the gas stove burner and boiler. It should help prevent the furniture from getting damaged easily. Besides, you should keep the boiler area empty.
The heat from the boiler or gas stove burner would burn the inflammable objects that are nearby. Keep air-tight glass containers, foil paper wrappings, jars, and plastic utensils at a safe distance.
Avoid packing the area with furniture, inflammable objects, and other items. Even if the boiler catches fire, your expensive furniture would be safe as it would be far away. In the meantime, you can put out the fire using the fire extinguisher.
7. Get an Annual Gas Safety Check
A gas safety essential that you must follow is getting a gas safety check done every year. Make sure that you hire a gas safe registered engineer. If you are renting the property, your landlord has a responsibility to get the safety check done.
The inspection will ensure that the gas appliances, including the boiler and stove, are safe to use. It should only take an hour for the gas safety checks to be conducted.
Once the inspection is done, you will receive a gas certificate. If you have just moved to a new property, your landlord is legally bound to provide you the previous certificate.
8. Get a Carbon Monoxide Alarm Installed
To keep your furniture and fittings safe, you need to install a carbon monoxide detector. It is recommended that you get one fitted in your home.
If there are appliances in your home that have not been ventilated or installed properly, there is a risk of gas leaks. Since gas can be odorless, it is too risky not to have a carbon monoxide alarm installed.
9. Keep Children Away from Gas Sources
Finally, you have to warn small children to stay away from heaters, stoves, and other gas sources. Kids should know how to identify the smell of gas and recognize its symptoms.
If you have children, you should keep the kitchen closed when it is not in use and keep the boiler locked. It will help prevent the kids from getting hurt.
Conclusion
Keeping your modern home safe just got a lot easier with our tips. When you follow the abovementioned gas safety essentials, your furniture, upholstery, and fittings will remain perfectly safe.
There is no denying that a gas explosion can be deadly. This is why you need to follow our tips for the best course of action. Share our post with your loved ones to raise awareness.
