Powerflushing in Kent

The Symptoms

Noisy boiler, pump or radiators?

Expensive fuel bills?

Cold spots on your radiators and slow to heat up?

Poor heat output?

Rusty marks from inside out?

Cold spots on your radiators?
Cold spots on your radiators?

The Answer could be powerflushing

If any of these symptoms sound familiar then it could be time to have a heating system powerflush by one of our Kent powerflushing engineers, as this is a sure way to improve the performance of your heating system, meaning you can start to save money on fuel bills.

Iron oxide based debris and corrosion deposits build up over time in the radiators, pipework and boiler. These deposits can easily be removed by our fully trained powerflushing engineers leaving your central heating system chemically cleansed & treated as a new installation would be.

We can also fit one of several excellent system filters available, which help prevent the need to ever powerflush again. These system filters catch the tiny iron oxide deposits that build up naturally and the filter is then simply cleaned during a routine service – We clean system filters free of charge during all boiler services carried out in the Kent area.

 

The Method of powerflushing

The powerflushing pump is connected into the heating system wherever is most practicable, this is usually done by removing a radiator or the pump. The powerful reversible flow together with cleansing chemicals dislodges debris and sludge which then becomes suspended in the water. This contaminated water is then forcibly pumped safely and effectively away to a drain and the system is topped up with clean water and more chemicals if necessary. The process is carried out on each radiator individually after which the entire system is flushed once again.

After flushing, the system is filled again with clean water which is circulated thoroughly. A sample of the water is then taken and tested to ensure it is ‘Gin clear’ as we say & system corrosion inhibitors are added to help protect the system in the future.

Powerflushing is not a magic wand and alone can not remedy design or mechanical problems already there, but in most cases it can solve the problems caused by poor design of installation.

The satisfaction after powerflushing

All our customers have noticed results almost immediately, check our testimonial pages to view more comments like these below.

“…Our living room was the coldest part of the house and the radiator in that room hasn’t worked properly for ages. After the powerflusher had finished the radiator and room were lovely and warm again” Mr R, Larkfield Kent

“We had three new pumps fitted in as many years before finally calling you guys. We went for the full powerflush and fingers crossed, the system and new pump are quiet again” Mrs D, Dartford Kent

“…thank you again for getting our heating working again. The workmen were very tidy & polite” Mrs F, West Kingsdown Kent.

If you need a central heating power flush and you live in Kent or South East London, give Samsian Ltd a call or use our easy contact form. We will be happy to give you a competitive fixed price there and then without even needing to visit.

 

Advice to help vulnerable people

Do you need help to stay Gas Safe? Advice to help vulnerable people such as the blind is available.

What is Gas Safe Register?

Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are registered to work safely and legally on gas appliances. By law, all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register. It has replaced CORGI registration.

If you know someone who is blind they may find the following useful:

  • All Gas Safe registered engineers carry an ID card to show you they are Gas Safe registered when they turn up at your door.
  • Braille does not confirm an engineer’s identity and is not included on the Gas Safe Register ID card. However the engineer’s licence number is displayed using raised numbers across the middle of the card to make it easier for customers who have restricted vision to check an engineer is registered.
  • Use the ‘Find a registered gas business’ service and ‘Check a gas engineer’service in the panel on the right of this page or call 0800 408 5500.
  • Agree with the Gas Safe registered business a password for their engineer to quote when they arrive on your doorstep.
  • You could arrange to have a trusted friend or family member present when the gas engineer calls.

Gas safety advice for vulnerable people

Have a gas safety check every year

Get your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year. Annual servicing not only helps keep your heating and hot water working properly, it helps keep you safe.

Are you entitled to a free gas safety check?

You could be entitled to a free gas safety check. Gas suppliers have a duty to provide free gas safety checks to some vulnerable people.

A free gas safety check may apply to home owners on means tested benefits who:

  • are elderly, disabled or chronically sick and either live alone or with others who are all elderly, disabled, chronically sick or under 18
  • are living with others where at least one child is under 5 years old
  • have not had a gas safety check carried out at the premises in the last 12 months
  • do not occupy premises where a landlord is responsible for arranging a check under regulations made under the Health and Safety at Work Act

What are the dangers of unsafe gas work?

In the right hands gas is safe, but badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. It has no taste, colour or smell and it can make you feel seriously ill.

If you are suffering from headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse or loss of consciousness and you don’t know why, it might be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning and you should see a doctor immediately.

Install a carbon monoxide alarm

Ask a friend, relative or care visitor to help you by installing an audible carbon monoxide alarm in your home.

For people with hearing difficulties, there are a number of specialist carbon monoxide alarms on the market. For advice on which alarm is right for your needs, contact theCouncil of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM) on 0800 1694 457.

Ask for help to spot signs of danger in your home

Ask a friend, relative or care visitor to look at the flame on all your gas appliances, which should always be crisp blue. A lazy, orange flame indicates that carbon monoxide could be produced.

Only use your gas appliances as intended

It is dangerous to use your gas cooker as a form of heating. Do not block air vents and chimneys to stop draughts – they might be essential for your gas appliances to work safely.

Source gas safe register 2013

National Gas Safety Week

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Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is co-ordinated by Gas Safe Register with support from the gas industry including retailers, manufacturers, consumer bodies and the public.

Twenty one million households in United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Guernsey use gas for heating, hot water and cooking, yet we take it for granted that our boilers, cookers and gas fires are safe. Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Did you know?

  • Every year thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a highly poisonous gas. You can’t see it, taste it or smell it, but it can kill quickly with no warning.
  • Gas Safe Register estimate that there are a hard core of around 7,500 illegal gas fitters operating across the UK and up to 250,000 illegal gas jobs may be carried out each year (Gas Safe Register Research 2009).
  • Although there is awareness that gas appliances need to be safety checked annually, 43% of Britons don’t do it, and 10% have gas appliances which have never been checked (Gas Safety Week Research 2011).

This year sees the third Gas Safety Week taking place, from 16th – 22nd September 2013. With national advertising, media coverage and events throughout the week, gas safety messages reach far and wide right at the start of heating season.

Be part of it and find out how you can get involved in Gas Safety Week.

Find out how you can stay safe at home.

Is your family Gas Safe?

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Are your elderly friends and relatives Gas Safe? – did you know that elderly people are less likely to know about Gas Safe Register, are more vulnerable to the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning and can’t always afford regular servicing or repairs?

Throughout the year it’s important to make sure that your gas boiler, gas fire and gas cooker are working safely and correctly.

Why not help keep your elderly friends and relatives safe with the following gas safety top tips:
• Only use a Gas Safe registered engineer to fit, fix or service your appliances.
• You can find or check a Gas Safe registered engineer by calling 0800 408 5500 or online at www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk
• Always check your engineer’s Gas Safe ID card.
• Get your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked every year.
• Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.
• The poisonous gas carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelt. The six main symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse and loss of consciousness.
• If you smell gas or think there might be a gas leak, turn off the gas at the meter, put out naked flames, open windows and immediately call the gas emergency number on 0800 111 999.

For more information about gas safety advice for elderly people visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/elderly or call Samsian Ltd on 01732 885882

22 million homes don’t take carbon monoxide risk serious

More than 22 million UK households aren’t taking the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning seriously according to research.

The findings, by npower hometeam which surveyed 2,000 people, found that awareness of the risks associated with carbon monoxide remain at an all time low, as more than two thirds of homeowners are failing to get gas appliances such as boiler, cookers and fires checked regularly for faults and leaks. 83 per cent of homeowners with gas fires don’t get them serviced regularly, whilst one in five gas cookers in the UK have never been checked. Only half of homeowners book an annual service for their boiler, even though a third of UK boilers are more than ten years old. One in six questioned never give it a second thought.

Carbon monoxide is the most common cause of fatal poisoning in the UK, with approximately 50 deaths a year, yet just 40 per cent of homeowners have a carbon monoxide alarm, half the number of those with a smoke alarm installed. This means that nearly 16 million homes currently don’t have a CO alarm and more than a third of these homeowners don’t think they need one. Women are more likely to own a smoke alarm (90 per cent compared to 82 per cent of men), and one in five males questioned didn’t know what a CO alarm was.
Households in Wales and the North West are most at risk when it comes to problems with their boilers with nearly a quarter of respondents in each area having never booked a service. Meanwhile more than 50 per cent of respondents in the East Midlands, North East and North West had never had their gas cookers serviced.

More than two thirds of homeowners in East Anglia and the North West don’t have a CO alarm and 67 per cent of homeowners in Northern Ireland without an alarm think that they don’t need one.

Those aged under 34 were the least clued up, with one in five 25-34 year olds having never booked a boiler service. That said, 18-24 year olds were the most likely age group to get their gas fire or gas cooker serviced regularly; whilst a surprising 41 per cent of over 55s have never had their gas cooker looked at.

Homeowners can reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning by making sure their home is well ventilated and by looking out for signs of a leak, which can include discoloration around the edges of the gas appliance, a yellow rather than a blue flame and increased condensation. If you have any concerns about your boiler, do not attempt to fix this yourself and always ensure that you call a Gas Safe registered engineer or Call Samsian Ltd on 01732 885882.

Is your new kitchen a death trap?

Research on cowboy gas fitters reveals that they are most likely to work on gas pipework and gas cookers and hobs, compared to other gas appliances in the home. The study carried out for Gas Safe Register estimated that 100,000 gas cookers and hobs are installed illegally every year by fitters who don’t have the skills or the qualifications to work on gas.

The research further identified that a quarter of a million gas jobs are carried out each year by at least 7,500 hard core illegal gas fitters. They are potentially the most dangerous type of illegal gas workers in the country. As well as carrying out gas work, many may also undertake plumbing jobs, bathroom fitting, kitchen fitting, general building and electrical work.

Commenting on the research, Phill Brewster, Gas Safe Register’s national investigations manager said:

“There’s an awful lot to think about when you’re doing any improvements to your home, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms. So, it’s not surprising that for some, it can slip your mind that certain jobs have to be done by a  skilled tradesmen. With our research showing that many cowboy gas fitters are most likely to work gas cookers, hobs and gas pipework, it is worrying to think how many people don’t realise that this type of work can only be done by a registered gas engineer.”

In the right hands gas is perfectly safe, but in the hands of an illegal gas fitter it can kill. Gas Safe Register is therefore advising anyone who is having gas work done in their home to make sure that it is carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Gas Safe Register’s investigation team are searching out illegal gas fitters around the country who are not registered. They also investigate registered engineers that carry out work they are not qualified to do, as Phill Brewster explains:

“We want everyone to understand that different types of gas work require different qualifications.  Just because someone is qualified and registered to work on one gas appliance, for example gas boilers, does not mean that they are automatically qualified to put in a gas fire.  If they do this, the work is illegal and potentially life threatening. The work that engineers can legally do is listed on the back of their Gas Safe Register ID card –so before you have any gas work done in your home make sure you check the card.”

Gas Safe Register is also urging the public to nominate their property for a free gas safety check if they have had gas work done in their home in the last six months.

Phill Brewster added:

“Cowboys and gas don’t mix, so it is crucial that people understand no matter how big or small the job is, when it comes to gas you cannot guarantee that the work has been done safely and legally unless you use a Gas Safe registered engineer. We are urging people to help us to protect them by

  • Always using a Gas Safe registered engineer when having any gas work done in their home and make sure they check the engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card to confirm they are qualified to do the work
  • Nominating their property for a free gas safety check
  • Reporting suspected illegal gas workers to Gas Safe Register.”

For more advice on avoiding illegal gas workers visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/illegals or call 0800 408 5500.

Or if you need gas work carrying out, call Samsian Ltd on 01732 885882

Source Gas Safe Register