Free Gas Safety Inspections During Gas Safety Week

Plumbing on Tap: A commitment to gas safety in Brighton

Plumbing on Tap has long been a supporter of Gas Safe certification and knows all too well the importance of gas safety within the home. Elliott Raggio, director of Plumbing on Tap, is a local businessman supporting public awareness during Gas Safety Week and helping the most vulnerable in Brighton and Hove by offering FREE gas safety inspections.

All too often we hear of cases whereby a cowboy gas fitter was hired for maintenance on a gas appliance only to open themselves and their families to the dangers of gas leaks and carbon monoxide deaths.    This is why we stress the importance of always hiring a Gas Safe certified engineer: always check the ID card.

Homeowners are neglecting gas safety.

We at Plumbing on Tap carried out over two-thousand gas safety checks in the last year, but less than 1% of those were for homeowners, while the rest were for landlords in accordance with the laws concerning rented properties and gas safety inspections.

Free gas safety inspections.

During Gas Safety Week, Plumbing on Tap in Brighton will be carrying out FREE gas safety
inspections worth up to £80 for the following vulnerable demographics to ensure they get an honest and trustworthy company check their home’s gas safety :

• Homeowners with a baby under six months old.
• Homeowners over the age of 75
• Homeowners with a boiler more than fifteen years old.

*Subject to availability. Must live within ten mile radius of Plumbing on Tap’s offices

Carbon Monoxide: What is it?

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, tasteless, odourless gas, comprised of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom (unlike carbon dioxide, which has two oxygen atoms).  Carbon monoxide is formed during the partial oxidation of carbon-containing compounds, such as the burning of fossil fuels, when there isn’t enough available atmospheric oxygen to form carbon dioxide compounds.

Deadly:  Carbon monoxide’s effects on the body.

Carbon monoxide is deadly.   Carbon monoxide binds irreversibly to haemoglobin in the blood to form carboxyhaemoglobin, which prevents affected red blood cells from carrying oxygen to tissues and organs.  Your blood becomes unable to transport oxygen to the body’s cells, resulting in asphyxiation.Think you will know if you are suffocating to death? Think again.  The body’s triggered response to asphyxiation doesn’t come from lack of oxygen, but build-up of carbon dioxide within bodily tissues.  Because you are still exhaling (and thereby reducing carbon DIoxide concentrations, but not those of carbon MONoxide) you can die from lack of oxygen without ever knowing it.

Because this gas lacks odour, taste, and colour, victims of carbon monoxide poisoning rarely know something’s amiss until it’s too late.   It only takes concentrations as low as 600 ppm (or 50% of the blood’s haemoglobin converted to carboxyhaemoglobin) to result in a swift death.

Know the signs: carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide poisoning elicits symptoms in the body, the most common of which is headache.  Other symptoms include:

• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Tiredness and confusion
• Stomach pain,
• Shortness of breath

For all your gas safety needs in Brighton, Hove, Worthing, and beyond, choose Plumbing On Tap

Plumbing on Tap only employs Gas Safe certified engineers, who will always be more than happy to show you their ID card.  Gas Safe not only certifies engineers with the knowledge and safety instruction to work on gas appliances, but every ID card will list which appliances an engineer is certified for.   If you are concerned about carbon monoxide, we can carry out gas safety checks on all of your gas appliances to ensure you and your family’s safety, and we also install carbon monoxide detectors, helping you to help your family.     To speak with one of our knowledgeable members of staff on what YOU can do to ensure you’re gas safe, give us a call today on 01273 723600.