What to look for in a reliable and qualified plumber and heating engineer

Boiler servicing is one of the most important jobs you can have carried out in your home and is something that you should never attempt yourself.

You may be nifty with a paintbrush or set of shelves and you may have even tackled some more complex DIY chores, such as installing a kitchen or converting a loft, but when it comes to your gas appliances it is best to leave it to a professional central heating engineer.

Of course, you may have been using the same team of Corgi registered plumbers for years. However, if you need to hire such an expert for the first time there are a few important things to keep in mind.

There are likely to be a number of gas appliances in your property, including the boiler, oven and any fires that are powered by the fuel. Each of these needs to undergo a safety inspection every year. This makes sure that they are not a risk.

You may think that you would realise if one of your gas appliances was in an unfit state; however, often there are very few clues. Some indicators you could pay attention to include the flame on your cooker burning yellow or orange and looking listless, or soot or staining that appears around the fixture. In terms of your boiler, should you notice that the pilot light is frequently going out or the condensation inside the window has increased it is time to have it checked.

But it would not be difficult for all of these things to escape your notice. The point at which you may become aware that there is a problem with your appliances could be when a fire breaks out or it explodes – the consequences of which could be devastating.

There is also a risk of a carbon monoxide leak. Almost impossible to detect relying on the human senses alone, poisoning can take hours or weeks and will see a household experiencing symptoms including headaches, nausea, fainting, sickness, lack of consciousness and ultimately death if not fixed.

So, as you can see, it really does make sense to always get a professional to inspect your gas-powered items. When regularly maintained, there is no reason why any of these appliances should pose a danger to you or your family.

But just how should you go about locating plumbing and heating specialists? The most important thing to remember is that whoever you hire to do the work must be Gas Safe registered in order to legally carry out these jobs in the UK.

You can check out your tradesman’s credentials by requesting he shows you his membership card. This will include a .list of the work he is qualified to do on the back and it is vital you check that this covers the task you have hired him for.

Such an engineer will be able to examine each of your gas appliances and either give them a clear bill of health for the next year or advise you if they pose a risk.

Of course, there are additional problems than just those involving your personal safety should your oven or boiler be found not to be working properly. After all, it is more than a slight inconvenience if your cooker packs in before you have saved for a new one, or your boiler breaks down in mid-winter forcing you to turn to emergency plumbers. A regular service will inform you what state your apparatus is in and could also give you time to put cash to one side for a replacement.

In the event that you buy a new boiler, oven or gas fire you must make sure that you hire the correctly qualified member of the Gas Safe register to fit it. Never attempt to do this on your own or rely on a friend or family member who is not a professional.

Should your old gas items be removed incorrectly or installed in a way that is wrong it could put you, your family and even your neighbours in danger.

Using a gas fitter could see you forking out thousands to put right and even more to repair the damage. Worse still, the cost could be you or one of your loved ones’ lives. However, there are many great reliable and qualified heating and plumbing professionals operating in the UK today and it is not difficult to secure the services of one who has all the right qualifications and does not charge you the earth.

And such experts can also offer you advice on how to improve your property’s energy efficiency, such as by upgrading your old boiler for a new and more efficient model.

But if you are still looking for some DIY work to keep you occupied then why not fit a carbon monoxide detector? This device works in a similar way to a smoke alarm by sounding a warning if it registers the deadly gas, ensuring that you make your way out of your home safely and contact a plumber.

So long as you take the right steps, you can be sure that you and your home will be gas safe for many years to come.