Gas safety tips in your home

Natural gas is actually a safe power source as it is environment friendly and it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases as much as other fossil fuels and wood burning fireplaces.

However, when not used with proper attention, it may cause a massive destruction in your house as it is highly flammable material. A natural gas leak in a house can cause potential fires, and inhaling the gas can cause natural gas poisoning. As with electricity, gasoline and other potentially dangerous energy sources, natural gas exposure must be handled with care.

Here a list of things that you should be aware of while maintaining Gas safety at your home!

1. Learn to detect the signs and symptoms of gas leakage

Pipes or appliances powered by natural gas can develop leaks, which can have potentially negative effects. It’s important to be able to identify natural gas leak symptoms and to know what to do if you have a gas leak.

Some of the major symptoms of gas leakage at your home are:

• smell of rotten eggs in your kitchen
• Large gas leaks in pipes or appliances may produce hissing noises, even if the appliance is turned off
• Natural gas leaks through underground piping will cause air bubbles outside your home
• Dead, dying or stunted plants inside or outside your home can be a potential sign of a natural gas leak in your home, especially if you’ve been taking proper care of your plants.
• Headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and irregular breathing are some physical symptoms of natural gas poisoning

2. Inspect appliances and fittings more often

Regularly inspecting all devices and appliances that use gas helps prevent and identify possible gas leaks in your house. Keep appliances and fittings in first class condition via regular servicing, checking regularly for deterioration in performance, signs of corrosion, and minor leaks. You should take help from qualified professionals to do this.

Furthermore, you must read the manufacturer’s instructions for each appliance to understand what to check and how often for safe use.

3. Keep small kids away from gas sources

Keep small children away from stoves, heaters, and other potential exposure sources of natural gas. Teach children how to spot and identify the distinctive natural gas smell, recognize symptoms of natural gas exposure and make sure they know what to do if they think there’s a natural gas leak in the house.

4. Install Gas leak detector

Slow gas leaks may not produce enough natural gas smell to be detectable, and even large leaks may not be detected by people with a diminished sense of smell. For these reasons, it is recommended that homeowners use a natural gas detector to alert them to the presence of natural gas.

However,Carbon monoxide detectors do not detect natural gas leaks in your home but can alert you when appliances improperly burn natural gas, kerosene or other fossil fuels. For extra safety, consider installing a carbon monoxide alarm like the plug-in carbon monoxide alarm or the battery-powered carbon monoxide alarm.

5. Get annual gas safety check

Get a Gas Safe registered engineer to check all gas appliances in your property once a year. They’ll also do a visual inspection of your gas pipework and a tightness test to confirm there aren’t any gas leaks. If you’re a tenant renting a property, make sure you landlord arranges a gas safety check.