Recently you may have seen me tweet and Instagram about Test It Tuesday. Every Tuesday I test my fire and carbon monoxide alarms and I urge everyone to do the same.
Carbon Monoxide is thought to have killed around 50 people and left 200 people, in this country, seriously ill* in 2012. Carbon Monoxide, also known as the 'silent killer' cannot be seen, smelt or tasted. Only a fully functioning alarm can alert you to the presence of carbon monoxide in your home. Only this alarm can save your and your families life.
There are still 35 million homes in Briton that are without a carbon monoxide alarm. I was one of those 35 million last year, because shamefully it was something that was always on my 'to do' list.
In 2012 I started working with Carbon Monoxide- Be Alarmed! and their campaign which opened my eyes to these figures. It scared me. Thanks to them I got a carbon monoxide alarm which is now safely fixed up in my home. My old landlord told me I didn't need one, I've been told not to worry about it but how can I ignore these figures? How can you take the risk any longer?
Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
1. Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in your home that sounds when the gas is present. This only takes a few minutes but could save your life. Your alarm should be placed in a central location in your home, fixed to a wall at head height, placed on a table or shelf. More information can be found here.
2. Have fuel burning appliances serviced annually by a qualified and registered engineer. If you rent, remember this is your landlord/lady's responsibility.
3.Don't block ventilation and have chimneys swept at least once a year.
4.Know the main symptoms: headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapsing and loss of consciousness. Key signs are if symptoms clear up when you are away from home and come back when you return, or if other people in your home experience similar symptoms.
5. Watch out for soot or a yellow/brown staining on or around your appliance, a lazy yellow/orange coloured gas flame instead of a sharp blue one or pilot lights which blow out frequently.
As part of this campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide, CO Be Alarmed have kindly offered me 5 Carbon Monoxide alarms to give away. The first 5 people to leave a comment on my blog will be sent a free alarm.
Please take a moment to visit the website here for more information. You can also follow CO Be Alarmed on twitter via this link here.
Thanks for reading.
CupcakeMumma
* Research from NHSChoices
This is something I have been meaning to do for ages! The price always puts me off when it shouldn't as it could save a life in the end!! x
ReplyDeleteThe price always put me off such a silly thing to say i know but it's sadly true!! x
DeleteAs I'm due to give birth at the end of this month, I need to purchase a carbon monoxide detector to protect my new arrival, myself, my husband and our two cats.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Its so important for people to be aware of the dangers.
ReplyDeleteI know someone who almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning so I really applaud you raising the issue. Despite this I can't remember ever checking my detector! Would it be ok to mention about this on my blog and link back to you?
ReplyDeletehttp://theegyptianmummy.blogspot.com/
That's absolutely fine! Thank you for commenting. I'm pleased to hear you have a detector already why not set an alarm every tuesday to test it (you can do check your fire alarms then too!) x
DeleteI keep saying we'll get a carbon monoxide alarm. One of these awful gunnerdoers I'm afraid! X
ReplyDeleteVery important to raise awareness of this! Sam
ReplyDelete