Cornish homeowners could be putting the lives of them and their families at risk as they strive to get the best price on their electrical, plumbing or gas works at home.
Electrical company, TEE Ltd, based in St.Agnes see the recent death of Rhinna Hardie in Taunton, and in 2002 of Penzance woman, Sharon Minister, as an unnecessary waste of life that could have been prevented.
Both incidents cited issues with faulty thermostats playing a critical role in leading to the cataclysmic failure of their boilers, which led to gallons of boiling water being showered over them from above.
What makes these failures so devastating to those in the trade is that in many cases incidents such as these could have been prevented by a change in attitude towards health and safety and the costs of carrying out works in the home.
Although small parts like a thermostat often cost somewhere in the region of £20 companies are often tempted to opt for lower priced parts costing less than £5 in a bid to win contracts.
Stan Barlow, Director of TEE Ltd, said,
“We are always pushed, as many trade companies are, to achieve the lowest cost to carry out work on a property. Customers have no idea that in many cases that can lead to installation of cheaper parts or materials, with shorter working lives and less durability.
“Common attitudes towards health and safety as a nuisance, rather than protection of them and their family welfare makes it difficult for companies to persuade customers that paying that little bit more is really in the interests of their personal and family’s wellbeing.” He continued.
TEE Limited recommends to that regular inspections and safety checks are carried out on all electrics, with parts such as thermostats, replaced at least every 3 to 4 years. Further still, the company now installs more expensive types of thermostat as standard on all projects.
“It is not worth cutting corners when people lives are at risk.” says Stan “Local authorities have detailed specifications in place that insist on the use of these more expensive thermostatic products and this should be extended to all private homes through appropriate legislation so that we never hear of cases like these again.”
Homeowners worried about the safety of their own immersion boilers should look out for excessively hot water from taps, unusual amounts of noise or bubbling from hot water cylinders or hot water coming through cold taps. In any of these cases the boiler should be isolated and an electrician, gas installer or plumber called.
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