Carbon Monoxide – The Silent Killer

You can’t get through a Tuesday without seeing #TestItTuesday all over social media. Whether it’s stove & fireplaces suppliers like ourselves, councils, charities and fire departments every week we are calling out for you to just take a few minutes and the push the button on your smoke & CO alarms.

What is Test It Tuesday?

‘Test It Tuesday’ is basically a social media campaign used by many different sources to encourage homeowners, businesses, basically everyone to take the time to push the button on their alarms and check they are working correctly.

Why Do You Need to Test Your Smoke & CO2 Alarms?

According to the NHS, more than 200 people each year go to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, which leads to around 50 deaths.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an extremely poisonous gas that can be present in the fumes from the combustion of fuel’s which aren’t burnt under the correct conditions. Fuels such as gas, oil, solid mineral fuel and biomass all have the potential to emit CO.

Once carbon monoxide is breathed in, it enters the bloodstream and mixes with the part of the red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body. Once this happens the blood is no longer able to carry oxygen and this lack of oxygen causes the body’s cells and tissue to fail and die.

With no smell, taste or visible indication for CO it has earnt the name the Silent Killer.

What Can You Do?

Installing a battery-operated CO detector in your home, is the first of several precautionary actions you can take against this Silent Killer. CO Alarms should be regularly tested (#TestItTuesday) with battery replaced regularly to ensure your alarm is working at all times. It may be good practice to replace the battery of your alarm when you change the time on your clocks each Spring & Autumn.

Like previously mentioned it is not enough just to have a CO alarm. It is important that all appliances, stoves, chimneys etc go through regular and thorough maintenance checks. Below we have highlighted some of key preventions you can follow to help protect your family and home from Carbon Monoxide.

-Appliance serviced and cleaned regularly by ideally a HETAS Registered Installer like ourselves.

-Make sure your chimney is regularly swept, at least once if not twice a year. Again, it is important to use Approved Chimney Sweeps so you know they will do the job correctly.

-Make sure any installations comply with Building Regulations guidance, at the end of the day they are there to protect you. Again, something we can’t reiterate enough, always use registered & HETAS approved installers.

-Finally make sure all your fuel-burning appliances, fireplaces and wood burning stoves are properly ventilated.

For a full range of services & support offered by us here at Robey’s follow the link below. For further advice on the danger of Carbon Monoxide poising visit either the HETAS or NHS websites.
https://www.robeys.co.uk/service-and-support

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