If you smell gas, the following steps will help to keep you and your home safe:
- Do open doors and windows to ventilate the property
- Do turn off the gas at the meter, if possible, unless your meter is in a cellar or basement
- Do keep away from the rooms where the smell of gas is strongest
- Do put out any naked flames
If you smell gas, it is important not to do any of the following as these could put you in further danger:
- Don't turn any electrical equipment or light switches on or off
- Don't smoke or light any sort of flame within the property
- Don't use any appliances that could cause a spark
-
Annual gas servicing
Your safety is a top priority, so every year our contractor, Dodd Group, carries out safety checks on all our gas appliances.
If you have a gas supply to your home, Dodd Group will write to you with an appointment date for your gas service. You will need to call them on their freephone number to confirm your appointment or to change the date to one that is more suitable.
Faulty gas appliances can leak carbon monoxide, which is an odourless but highly poisonous gas. Your yearly gas service will only take about half an hour to complete and will help to keep you and your family safe for another 12 months.
-
What happens if I don't allow access for gas servicing?
We are committed to keeping your home safe and it’s really important that you let us in to do the gas service.
We will try several times to contact you, but if you will not allow us to complete the gas service we may need to take legal action giving us the right to enter your home and disconnect your gas supply. You may also have to pay for any court costs incurred. This will always be a last resort and we will make several attempts to contact you and arrange an appointment first.
For more information, or to confirm or change a gas service appointment, please contact Dodd Group on 0800 085 4837.
-
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas. It can be caused when gas appliances are not properly fitted, maintained or ventilated. You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but it can kill in minutes.
Signs of carbon monoxide include:
- a yellow or orange gas flame, instead of the normal blue
- your pilot light often goes out
- there's soot, brown or yellow staining around your gas appliance
- your carbon monoxide detector goes off
If you suspect carbon monoxide:
- stop using all appliances, switch them off, and open doors and windows to ventilate your home
- leave the property immediately and stay calm
- call the gas emergency number on 0800 111 999
- let us know on 01902 556789, or 01902 552999 if it's out of hours
- don't go back into the property
- wait for advice from the emergency services
Steps to reduce the risk:
- always use a Gas Safe registered engineer to install or remove gas cookers
- test your carbon monoxide alarm weekly
- keep air vents clear
- do not block any outside flues, grills or air bricks
- don’t tamper with or attempt to repair gas appliances yourself
- keep your cooker clean and in full working order
- open windows when cooking with large pots
- avoid sleeping in rooms with old gas appliances, like boilers or fires
If you’re unsure about any of the above, please contact us.
-
Testing your carbon monoxide alarm
There are important checks that are needed, to help keep you and your family safe. You should:
- Test your alarms weekly by pressing and holding the test button on the alarm until it sounds
- Keep your alarms clean. The alarm may be cleaned externally with a narrow nozzle of a vacuum cleaner and wiped down with a clean damp cloth
- Do not paint the alarm. This may cause false alarms, impair performance and may damage components of the alarm
Please see the below image of your carbon monoxide alarm. Remember, test your alarms weekly by pressing and holding the test button on the alarm until it sounds.
Electrical safety testing
Every five years, we carry out electrical safety checks on our tenants’ homes.
The electrical checks are completed by our contractor, Dodd Group. The check may only take a couple of hours, but it could keep you and your family safe for another five years.
Dodd Group will write to you before your electrical safety check is due with an appointment. If the appointment isn’t suitable, just contact Dodd Group using the details on the letter and they will be happy to rearrange the appointment for a more suitable time.
Faulty electrics can increase your energy bills, cause outages, and even result in fires. Please help us to keep you safe by allowing Dodd Group to complete the check as quickly as possible.
What can you expect from your gas service?
Watch our short video below to learn more about what you can expect from your gas service.
EV chargepoints
Are you looking to install an electric vehicle chargepoint? Please follow the safety guidance linked here.