Dreadful problems with landlord- please advise

bitsandpieces

The OP said "someone came in, said heating exchange was totally blocked and we needed new boiler. She got us some oil filled radiators and said it would take her a little while to get things sorted." I assumed that meant the boiler had been shut off (effectively condemned) and electric radiators provided in the meantime. If so, surely carbon monoxide shouldn't be an issue? Assuming the new boiler's installed by someone competent, I thought they were OK to use for a year before checking.

If the boiler's still in use after it has been found unsafe then - absolutely - the OP needs to take action yesterday. Either way, I wouldn't stay there longer than necessary - I wouldn't trust this LL re safety - but assuming the boiler has been competently shut off then I don't think it should be a carbon monoxide risk.

princeofpounds

we should also remember to point out that the boiler needs to be fitted/fixed/inspected by a gassafe qualified technician - previously known as CORGI.

clutton_2

bitsnpieces - you are of course right..... but it is only the OP's own common sense which, thank the lord, told her to discontinue using this back boiler which has saved her from poisioning - or worse....

its this landlord's attitude which really worries me - no smoke alarms, telling OP to remove alarms from carbon monoxide monitor; no LGSC; refusing to do repaairs.... LL clearly has no idea what they are doing and needs to be avoided at all costs..

bitsandpieces

Absolutely - not defending the landlady and think it would be a good idea to get EH involved at some point. However, assuming the boiler's shut off correctly, carbon monoxide shouldn't be an immediate risk for the OP.

MoneyQueen

Hi gothmaz,

Can I ask if the bunglow is in Essex. Your landlady seems to be very similar to the one that I had when I was renting in Essex few years ago

MQ

harryhound

HellsGranny wrote: »

Carbon monoxide, whilst not actively poisonous, kills you by taking the place of oxygen in your blood, therefore suffocating you. Carbon monoxide has no smell or taste and it is not a volatile gas (won't catch fire), but it WILL kill you.*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning

I'm not sure what the definition of "volatile" is but as a retired central heating boiler maintenance man - our boiler (or rather its lazy owners) used to kill an average of one family a year - even after we put a red skull and cross bones sign inside its front door and then on the front door under the warrant from royalty.
It also had a wonderful trick of filling huge old chimneys with just the right mix of CO and air to get an explosion that could leave bricks all over the kitchen work tops.

Ah those were the swinging 60's with anthracite at 15 GBP per ton. (ie two weeks industrial wages could keep you in central heating and hot water for a year no wonder nobody bothered to insulate anything.)

I moved in, with my 2 kids and asked for a gas safety certificate. There wasn't one. But she had someone in to do one for me. Sorted.

It is possible that the heat exchanger has got blocked in 9 months since the survey/service - I would depend on the type of boiler and its burner - but it is unlikely.
Have you checked to see if the "engineer" is properly certificated and if he is not then that sounds like a criminal offence to me.
Did you get a new certificate with the new boiler?

I wonder if you really did need a new boiler rather than a proper service on the old one, Ah well there are some people in the landlord business who should be put out of business PDQ.

The burn marks on the immersion heater switch should be a one hour job for a handyman if they are simply arcing (flashing with a bit of a "tish" "tish" noise and usually a funny smell) make sure heat resistant flex is used.
(If the earth has been disconnected because the immersion itself is failing (they develop a tiny hole and the steam pressure inside eventually splits them open) - then someone should be shot at dawn)

http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=GICPF5MI5ELBKCSTHZOSFFY?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=immersion&searchbutton.x=10&searchbutton.y=5&searchbutton=submit
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;jsessionid=GICPF5MI5ELBKCSTHZOSFFY?_dyncharset=UTF-8&fh_search=Heat+resistant&searchbutton.x=10&searchbutton.y=7&searchbutton=submit
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/32153/Electrical-Supplies/Switches-Sockets/White-Moulded/Marbo-Range/Marbo-20A-DP-Sw-Neon-Marked-Water-Heater

It is usually the male in the partnership, who understands these things - you never know he might be better at getting landladyfromhell to get things done ?
(At least you could set up a "good cop bad cop" scenario")

clutton wrote: »

It is my understanding that Carbon Monoxide is heavier than air... and it will sink to the floor.... where children crawl, and play and sit.... and children are much more vulnerable to smaller lethal doses than adults......

..

??????
If that were so we would be told to mount the carbon monoxide alarm on the skirting boards?

Are you thinking of :

Hg (Mercury)?
SO2 (Sulphur dioxide - we are back with the anthracite or cheap heavy heating oil, the sort used on ships !)
or even
Hydrogen Sulphide?

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gas-density-d_158.html

clutton_2

harryh thanks for this interesting post... my reference refers to a boiler in an ex-local authority property i bought, where the boiler flue was too close to the kitchen window. The gas engineer i used at the time said that the exhaust gases from the boiler would get into the window, sink to the floor, and thus be more dangerous to children.. we could not re-site the boiler so had to close the window permanently and install ventilation/extraction in the kitchen....

N79

??????
If that were so we would be told to mount the carbon monoxide alarm on the skirting boards?

Are you thinking of :

Hg (Mercury)?
SO2 (Sulphur dioxide - we are back with the anthracite or cheap heavy heating oil, the sort used on ships !)
or even
Hydrogen Sulphide?

Clutton is right that Carbon Monoxide sinks in air and can be found at higher concentrations at floor level.

I don't know why you have quoted the other irrelevent compounds.

For information (and the proof)

Atomic Weight of Nitrogen (~78% of air) = ~ 14g mol−1
Atomic Weight of Oxygen (~21% of air) = ~ 16 g mol -1
Molecular weight of Carbon Monoxide = ~ 28 g mol−1

gothmaz

kate252 wrote: »

SPOT ON_ do what this person says- and not being rude- but why, after rebnting all these years, did you not make sure you knew your deposit was protected? next house you go to- can you make sure you get the details next time, and if you were renting through a leting agency i thought they made sure this was done for you

To be honest i was staying with my parents for a couple of years to help them out with their mortgage as my dad had 2 strokes and couldn't work. Once that was all sorted I moved out again, but onto the same road as them. Deposits weren't protected last time I rented. But I did look it up before I re-rented. Before I signed the lease I asked the agent about my deposit, he told me the landlord would be in touch with the details of where she's putting it. I asked her about 4 times and each time she said she hadn't decided where to put it yet. I knew even then that it was over the 14 days. I asked a number of times, in the end I called the schemes myself and I have since threatened her with court.

gothmaz

clutton wrote: »

thank you hellsgranny.... altho some posters have mentioned this issue , it so saddens me that so many of them are STILL going down the banging on about "3 times deposit" route rather than drawing Gothmaz's attention to THE serious matter which both you and i have highlighted....

It is my understanding that Carbon Monoxide is heavier than air... and it will sink to the floor.... where children crawl, and play and sit.... and children are much more vulnerable to smaller lethal doses than adults......

get onto Environmental Health immediately..... please.......

As soon as I knew about the leak I had the National Grid out - TWICE. They shut off the gas and we lived on storage heaters for FIVE weeks. I should add now that the boiler was eventually replaced last week.
However, she called me on a Wednesday night, said it was being done on Saturday. She then told me that we should vacate the property until the work was completed. I lost my rag and had a go saying you've given me 2 days notice to move out for potentially 4 days?! She felt this was perfectly reasonable seeing as I'd kicked up such a fuss over the boiler and was so funny about the 'gas' issue. I called the estate agent he said it was also totally unreasonable, but when he tried to call her she refused to answer his calls. I have since had it all out with her this weekend and she said that we had kicked up a huge fuss over the boiler. Too bloody right we did, don't think she'd have liked to have gone for 5 weeks over xmas and new year with no central heating!

I should also add that this woman is a health and safety officer for a council.