Carbon monoxide- we could have died!

code-a-holic

We rent a property, moved in 2.5 yrs ago. The oil boiler had never been serviced in this time. And the landlord installed before we moved in. today we had a service and the emergency fuel switch is not there. In a fire, the house would have been constantly fulled from the oil tank. And the Carbon monoxide reader instantly showed 200. A deathly reading. The engineer said ' sorry to say this, but im surprised you are still here' Thats us and our 3 under 5's.

Absoloutly shocking! I wasnt really aware on the dangers with oil boilers. The news always refers to gas boilers. The problem has now been fixed and a cut off switch been ordered. Want to rave at the landlord - i dont think they were aware - they are friends.

Want to highlight to oil boiler owners that carbon monoxide is a issue for us too!

ormus

afaik the landlord has broke the law then.
he should have have had the boiler checked once per annum.

and you really should have installed a carbon monoxide detector, for the childrens sake at least.
i have an electronic one, plus the little disc detectors too. dirt cheap.

my nephew died a few yrs ago from a faulty gas boiler. it makes you see safety in a whole new light!



ps,
im so glad you and the family are all ok.

moob_2

code-a-holic wrote:

We rent a property, moved in 2.5 yrs ago. The oil boiler had never been serviced in this time. And the landlord installed before we moved in. today we had a service and the emergency fuel switch is not there. In a fire, the house would have been constantly fulled from the oil tank. And the Carbon monoxide reader instantly showed 200. A deathly reading. The engineer said ' sorry to say this, but im surprised you are still here' Thats us and our 3 under 5's.

Absoloutly shocking! I wasnt really aware on the dangers with oil boilers. The news always refers to gas boilers. The problem has now been fixed and a cut off switch been ordered. Want to rave at the landlord - i dont think they were aware - they are friends.

Want to highlight to oil boiler owners that carbon monoxide is a issue for us too!

I know they are your friends, but if they weren't, I'd report them to the local authority, as they are required by law to have their services inspected annually. They should also be registered with the LA as private landlords.

Friendship is no excuse to negligence.

Think of it this way: worse case scenario, would they still be your friends?

prettypennies

Many moons ago my mum and her sister nearly died from a faulty boiler in the bathroom.

Every home should have a carbon monoxide detector regardless of what appliances you have (carbon monoxide can easily leak in from faulty appliances in neighbouring houses).

*Edited Error*

Don't delay buy one today.

LJM

omg it shouldnt matter if your friends or not whos more important yours and your families lives or your friend,sorry to sound harsh

code-a-holic

I have been asking for a service for a long time.......they have no excuse to have delayed it.
Downside of being friendly with you landlord - i think they loose the need to rush and act immedietly with the 'they wont mind' attitude. The engineer is the landlord nephew, and was shocked to say the least and is sure the landlord will be feeling awful. There is no way to apologise for something like this - there's huge blame on them. WE have all been ill on and off for some time and assume this is the cause.
Im very angry with myself that i was not aware of carbon monoxide with Oil. I had looked in to it in the past in B&Q, looking at detectors and they all said gas, so assumed there was no need to be concerned about levels. How wrong was i!
I am fully on the case to make sure nothing like this happens again.

Canucklehead

Hi

Glad you lived to tell the tale!!
Everyone please note;

ALL FOSSIL FUELS PRODUCE CARBON MONOXIDE.

Corgi Guy.

babyangel10

prettypennies wrote:

Battery operated ones can be bought for as little as £12 (Ikea)

Don't delay buy one today.

Thanks for this bit about Ikea - I'm off there on Monday anyway for something else - any rough ideas whereabouts in the store they keep the detectors? E.G Kitchen dept? Marketplace?

I'm only rushing in for one thing on Monday and haven't time to saunter as I normally would (:D) so would be good if I had a rough idea where to aim for!

Glad to hear your mum and sis, plus the OP and family, are all ok :j

This monoxide is scary stuff eh?

prettypennies

If my memory serves my right I think they were by the Ikea family bit in between the kids section and marketplace.


Is it really possible to just nip in to Ikea? I always start at the end of the store with the intention of just having a quick mooch in the bargain corner and going straight to the warehouse. Yet an hour later I seem to be drawn into to following the other shoppers through the endless labyrinth of bizarrely named products!!!

benood

Wow I hadn't appreciated this risk either, thanks for the post, carbon monoxide detector will be on order.

Canucklehead

Hi

Also note , gas fires,open flue boilers, open fires, be they oil or gas and any other appliance that takes it's air for combustion from the room which it is in, are the ones that pose the greatest risk from CO.
Room sealed boilers that take air from outside are low risk
Regular servicing is money well spent as well as a detector.

Corgi Guy.