Looking After Your Home

How to keep you and your home safe

Unless gas appliances are serviced regularly they can become dangerous and can kill. We will check your gas appliance(s) every 12 months; failure to allow us into your home to check these will mean that your are in breach of your tenancy.

• Make sure you allow us in to conduct an annual gas safety check;
• Check for warning signs your appliances aren’t working correctly eg lazy yellow or orange flames instead of crisp blue ones, black marks on or around the appliance and too much condensation in the room;
• Don’t use a gas appliance if you have any doubt that it isn’t working properly. If in doubt, call the office;
• Know the six signs of carbon monoxide poisoning – headaches, dizziness, breathlessness, nausea, collapse and loss of consciousness;
• Have an audible carbon monoxide alarm. This will alert you if there is carbon monoxide in your home. Our contractor checks these annually and replaces them if required;
• Never carry out any gas works yourself;
• Make sure you know where to find your gas meter and how to turn off the gas in an emergency. If you are not sure our contractor attending the service can assist you with this;
• Never block up air ventilation points and ensure that the gas flue is kept clear at all times.

For more gas safety advice, visit the Gas Safe Register website. Alternatively, you can call the free helpline on 0800 408 5500.

To find out who your network energy supplier is, click here.

I can smell gas – what do I do?

If you think you can smell gas or fumes:

Call the National Grid gas emergency call centre on 0800 111 999.

• Evacuate the property;
• Keep people away from the area affected;
• Wait near – but not in – the property. The National gas emergency service will be with you within two hours;
• Turn off the gas at the meter;
• Open windows and doors;
• Put out naked flames;
• Don’t use electrical switches;
• Turn off all natural gas fuel burning appliances including cookers, fires, boilers etc.

If you have any symptoms of nausea or headaches you need to seek immediate medical attention.

What is condensation?

It starts as moisture from cooking, washing or drying clothes indoors on radiators. The moist air condenses on cool surfaces such as walls, mirrors, wall tiles and windows, and even some clothes.

When the moist air is warm it rises and often ends up on ceilings and in upstairs rooms. It’s then that mould starts forming.

If mould starts:

• Wipe the mould off immediately with water. Do not use washing up liquid.
• Apply a mild bleach solution to the wall or use a recommended product available from a DIY store.

Trying to stop condensation:

• Condensation can start in any home. You can do things to stop it happening;
• Close kitchen and bathroom doors to stop steam going into other colder rooms;
• Open kitchen and bathroom windows when cooking or washing to let the steam out, or use an extractor fan if you have one put in;
• Open some windows in all the rooms in your home for a while each day, this will allow for a change of air;
• Wipe down surfaces where moisture settles to stop mould forming;
• If you use a tumble drier, vent it directly to the outside;
• Use window trickle vents where these are provided;
• Do not block, take away or cover air vents;
• Do not switch off automatic kitchen or bathroom extractor fans;
• Do not use bottled gas or paraffin heaters – these produce a lot of moisture and your tenancy agreement says that you are not allowed to use these;
• Do not use your cooker to heat your home.

How to produce less moisture:

• Dry clothes outdoors whenever possible, otherwise use well ventilated rooms;
• Cover pans when cooking;
• Vent any tumble driers to the outside;
• Keep your house warm;
• Take steps to stop heat loss in your home;
• Keep low background heat.

Please click here for an information leaflet about condensation and how to deal with it.

Your smoke detector has been designed to be as maintenance free as possible. To keep your detector in good working order you must:

• Test the detector weekly (see section below “How to Tell if the Detector is Working Properly”).
• ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD: Turn off mains power at the fuse box or circuit breaker powering the detector before following these cleaning instructions:
• Vacuum the detector at least once a year, using the soft brush attachment to your vacuum cleaner;
• Clean the detector’s cover when it gets dirty. Hand wash the cover with a cloth lightly dampened with clean water. Dry it with a lint-free cloth. Be sure not to get any water on the detector components;
• Test detector after restoring power.

If your lights or power go off, it means your trip switches are working properly. You can find out what caused the problem and sort it out quite easily.

Modern electric circuits are fitted with circuit breakers called trip switches. If there’s a problem with your electrics, a switch is tripped and the circuit is broken.

All of the fuses or trip switches are found in the consumer unit or fuse box. Some consumer units have buttons rather than switches.

• There are too many appliances on a circuit and it’s overloaded;
• An appliance is faulty or hasn’t been used properly, for example a kettle has been over-filled or a toaster not cleaned;
• Water has leaked into a circuit;
• A light bulb has blown;
• There’s a problem with your immersion heater;
• Always have a torch handy in case you have a power cut;
• If there’s a problem with one of your electrical appliances, leave it unplugged and get a qualified electrician or service engineer to check it.
• If there’s a problem with your wall or ceiling light, keep it switched off (put some tape over the switch) and let us know straight away.

Make sure your hands are dry when you touch electrical fittings

This advice is only for modern consumer units.

• Open the cover on the consumer unit so that you can get to the trip switches/buttons.
• Check which switches/buttons have tripped to the OFF position and which rooms (circuits) have problems.
• Put these switches/buttons back to the ON position.
• If the trip goes again, it’s probably being caused by a problem with one of your appliances or lights. You need to find out which circuit it is and which appliance on that circuit is causing the problem.

Check all the rooms and check which set of lights or sockets is not working.

• Unplug all appliances on that problem circuit and switch off the immersion heater.
• Switch the ‘tripped’ switch to the ON position (press in if it’s a button).
• Plug in the appliances or switch on each light one at a time until the trip goes again. Don’t use adaptors or multi plug extensions when testing appliances.

Power Cuts

Power cuts can happen at any time for a number of reasons. Any power cut/outage is bound to bring some sort of inconvenience but managing that inconvenience and staying safe is possible with just a bit of preparation.

Before a power cut

Here are a few things you should think about that will help you no matter when the power cut comes. Such as:

• Staying warm: Stock up on thick blankets, bedding and
• Alternative lighting: Candles may look nice, but they’re a fire and health hazard and should be Having a torch with batteries means you won’t drain your phone battery, which you might need in an emergency. Getting a solar lantern that can recharge without plugging in or LED lanterns with long- lasting batteries are two other ways to safely light your house.
• Food: Try and keep some non-perishable foods that don’t require cooking in your cupboards such as canned meats, fish, vegetables and fruit or nuts, dried fruits and energy bars
• Communication: Charge mobile phones, power banks, laptops and other Although landlines are likely to still work even in a power cut many homes no longer have one.
• Key numbers: Make sure you have your utility’s emergency number written down If you smell a gas leak, you don’t want to be reliant on Wi-Fi to pull up your utility’s emergency number.
• First aid kit: if you have one, make sure it is easily
• Something to do: Have some entertainment ready, books, board games, jigsaw puzzles: anything that doesn’t need electricity to The biggest enemy during power outages will be boredom, particularly for young children and young adults.

During a power cut

When the power does go out:

• Do not open fridges or freezers as the cold air will
• If the property has a hot water tank don’t take a shower or bath –save that water for hot water bottles, since the tank will stay warm for a while after the power goes out.
• Unplug electronic equipment including computers, TVs, sound systems, chargers, air fryers, microwaves and There may be a small possibility of power surges once on the power comes back on, so unplugging will avoid damage and keep people safe.
• Secure vulnerable pets
• Check on vulnerable neighbours who may need help
• In a power cut dial 105
• Click here to find out who your network operator is

When the power comes back on

The power will all come back at once, but that doesn’t mean things will work perfectly right away, lots of things may need resetting.

• Check the fuse box for flipped trip switches
• Reset clocks and timers
• Reset Wifi
• Check your refrigerator and freezer for any spoiled Some foods, like ice cream, are unsafe to refreeze
• Check on vulnerable neighbours

To check the power situation in your area or for more advice please visit https://www.nationalgrid.co.uk/power-cut-information

Kitchen & Bathroom Sinks

Unblocking a sink or bath waste is your responsibility.

Never pour fats down the kitchen sink as these go solid when they cool and block the pipes and drains. Always let the fat cool down and once it’s solid put it in a container or a plastic bag and put it in the bin.

There are many products available from supermarkets and DIY stores that you pour down the plughole to clear blockages. You can help prevent your sink, bath or shower from blocking by buying strainers that fit over the sink hole to catch any hair or food particles.

• The house should not be left entirely without heating for more than a day or two in very cold weather. If the house is to be left for any length of time and the heating turned off, it is safest to drain off the hot water and cold water systems completely. This means turning off the main supply stopcock on the cold riser to the cold water storage tanks. Hose pipes should be fitted to draincocks and the system drained down. All taps should be turned on until they run dry, then turned off again. Flush the WC.
• Before turning on the heating, you must turn on the main supply stopcocks and the stopcocks of the downpipes from cold and hot water storage tanks. Turn on taps until the water flows freely again.
• Keep all pipes and tanks in the roof space, outhouses and external WC’s well insulated to prevent freezing up and bursts pipes. If you have controllable gas/oil/electric heating, it is possible to avoid this inconvenience by adjusting the timer to bring the heating on for an hour or so twice a day at a reduced level. This will normally keep the dwelling free from freezing.

• If pipes leak, place a dish or bowl underneath the leak. Pull back any carpets and lay down newspapers or towels to absorb any dampness.
• If pipes burst, turn off the water at the main stop cock, and any gate valves from the water tank, and switch off any water heaters. Open all taps to drain water from the system. Some items of equipment may have their own isolation valve (either a gate valve, or a service valve). If not, you may be able to isolate the fault by just turning off a gate valve on a pipe coming out of the cold water tank. This will leave you with some services, even though it might only be cold water at the kitchen tap. You could then temporarily flush toilets using a bucket of cold water.
• If electric fittings get wet DO NOT TOUCH and turn off electricity at the meter.
• If the ceilings bulges, prevent the ceiling from falling down by placing a bucket under the bulge and pierce a small hole to let the water through.
• If pipes freeze turn off the water at the main stop tap and open the cold taps. It is best to leave the pipes frozen but you may try to thaw the pipe using a hot water bottle.

Check your fuse box if you lose power to all of the sockets or lights in a room or on one floor of a house. Modern fuse boxes simply need you to flick a switch or press a button. The fuse box is normally located near to a front door, in a cupboard or perhaps under the stairs. Find out where yours is before you have a problem.

Remember a blown fuse indicates a problem somewhere else, possibly a faulty socket or light fitting. If you think electrics may have been affected by water, give them time to dry out before resetting a fuse switch. Fuses should be marked to indicate which circuit they manage, e.g. lights, sockets etc. If a fuse cannot be reset, this information is useful to the electrician in identifying where the problem will be in the property.

Some fittings also have a fused switch or fuse in the circuit so that they can be isolated (this commonly applies to immersion heaters and the like). If something doesn’t work and it has a fuse switch, check the fuse first before reporting a problem.

Remember Electricity CAN KILL – repairs should be carried out by a qualified electrician. ALWAYS turn off power at the fuse box before doing any electrical repairs yourself. If in any doubt, call us.

When the indicator light flashes about every 40 seconds, the detector is receiving power from the battery or electrical current. Test the detector weekly by pushing firmly on the test button until the horn sounds. This should take 20 seconds. If the alarm horn makes a continuous loud sound, the detector is working properly. This is the only way to be sure that the detector is working.

Never use an open flame of any kind to test your detector. You may set fire to and damage the detector as well as your home. The built-in test switch will accurately tests all detector functions as required by Underwriters’ Laboratories. It is the only correct way to test.

If you have a battery powered smoke detector, this will be replaced with a wired system whenever it becomes necessary to carry out an electrical check to your home.

If you want to carry out changes to your home please check with our office as to whether it is something you will need permission for. You do not usually need permission for decorating, putting carpets down or putting up pictures or mirrors. Any changes to the fixtures you will need to ask for permission first. If you are in any doubt, call the office.

Most modern houses have walls of lightweight materials which may require special fixings to secure heavy pictures, mirrors, bathroom cabinets etc. Steel pin picture hangers can be used for lightweight articles.

This is a list of some wall constructions and the fitting to use:

• Blockwork (breeze block): plastic or fibre wall plugs and screws;
• Paramount Partitioning (hollow plasterboard): “rawl plugs”, spring toggles, rawl and/or similar butterfly bolts;
• Plasterboard on blockwork: “rawl plug”, spring toggles, rawl anchors or similar, butterfly bolts, but heavy articles should be fixed direct through the partitioning into blockwork using plaster or fibre wall plugs and larger screws;
• Plasterboard on timber supports: articles should be fixed directly through plasterboard into timber supports with timber screws/nails, or as for “Paramount” into the plasterboard.

Please read the operating instructions for your central heating so that you know how to operate this safely. If you do not have instructions, please contact us.

If your central heating does not work, here are a few simple checks you should make before reporting this as a repair:

• If you have gas central heating this needs both an electrical and gas supply to operate the controls and ignite the boiler, so check that both of your supplies are working;
• Check that the timer is set correctly. This has to be re-set in Autumn and Spring when the clocks change;
• Check the thermostat is not set too low. If it is the heating will not come on;
• Switch your heating to constant. This overrides the timer. If the heating comes on this means that your timer is not set correctly;
• Check that your radiators are turned on and that if they are fitted with individual thermostats these are set to a high temperature so that they come on.