Carbon monoxide is an incredibly dangerous gas that can be caused by a range of different appliances within the home. In fact, it is so harmful that all households must have a carbon monoxide detector installed by law in order to warn the inhabitants that the gas is present. With this said, it is very rare that the alarm will ever go off, especially if you pay attention to the maintenance your appliances. If your detector does happen go off however it can be a worrying occasion and very few people actually know what to do. In order to keep families safe, the team here at Pearson Sweep are going to give you the lowdown on the correct protocol to follow…
- Open all the doors and windows
If you detector goes off it means that the level of carbon monoxide has reached a certain percentage and one of the first things that you should do is open all the doors and windows in order to try and remove it from the atmosphere.
- Turn off all fuel
Once you have ventilated the home to the best of your ability it is time to make the property safe. Since carbon monoxide is flammable you should turn off your boilers and fires so that there is no further risk.
- Do not switch on any lights, smoke or strike any matches
Since the gas is incredibly flammable it means that simple things could cause a fire. Of course, this is a very low risk and rarely happens however until the property has been serviced by a professional you should avoid doing anything that could lead to a fire such as smoking, lighting matches and even flipping switches.
- Evacuate and call the professionals
Carbon monoxide is extremely dangerous to our health and since the gas is odourless it can take some time until people notice it is even present. Once you have completed the above steps you should leave the property and call the relevant professionals. It is also important that you visit your GP to ensure that you don’t have carbon monoxide poisoning too.
Carbon monoxide can be caused by a range of different things within the household, with the most common being gas appliances. With this said, the team here at Pearson Sweep know all too well how easy it can be for the gas to build up when people fail to have their working chimney swept. As the experts in the industry, we want to remind all chimney users how important it is to have their chimney serviced and swept at least once a year. To find out more information, get in contact with the best chimney sweep in Manchester today!