New Gas Safe Register research has found that one-third of UK adults make excuses at least twice a week to get out of or put off doing things they know they should do e.g. avoiding household chores.
More worryingly, one in three people have used excuses not to get their gas appliances safety checked, despite nearly 80 per cent of them saying they would never make excuses if their loved ones’ safety was at risk.
Gas Safe’s latest inspection figures show just how real these risks are and why excuses aren’t worth making. Nearly 7 million homes – one in four – contain potentially dangerous gas appliances, including boilers, cookers and gas fires.
When speaking to Gas Safe registered engineers about the tall tales they commonly hear from their customers for not having their gas appliances safety checked, Gas Safe found that householders most commonly use “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” as an excuse for skipping their annual gas safety checks, failing to realise that this could be masking lethal faults.
Further far-fetched excuses that gas engineers have heard include:
The parrot doesn’t like gas engineers
I used a wine bottle cork to stop gas coming out of the hole in the wall
I just open the window if it starts smelling of gas, and
I didn’t think gas was dangerous.
There are no excuses for not taking gas safety seriously in our homes. Unsafe and unchecked appliances – cookers, boilers, gas fires – can be deadly. Taking action is easy though: it’s so important that we educate ourselves on the warning signs of gas safety, and that we choose prevention over cure by having appliances safety checked.
Bob Kerr, Gas Services Director at Gas Safe Register, adds: “We’re urging the nation to take a ‘no excuses’ attitude. Be better gas safe than sorry – don’t let excuses get in the way of the health and safety of your loved ones.”
Original publication: https://registeredgasengineer.co.uk/no-excuses-for-not-taking-gas-safety-seriously/
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