Safety Alert - 11.06.2008

Scalding risk from domestic hot water systems

In the Winter 2007 edition of Home News, NDH issued a safety alert on the advice of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The advice which was issued to all landlords was as a result of tragic death of 10 month old Rhianna Hardie who died from being scalded by water from a hot water tank which had a faulty thermostat. The advice to our customers is still the same.

The HSE emphasises that the occurrence of this type of incident is rare, but outlines the typical warning signs that people should be aware of.

The warning signs people in any home should look out for include:

· Excessively hot water coming out of the hot water taps

· Excessive noise or ‘bubbling’ from the hot water cylinder

· Hot water coming out of certain cold water taps (some storage cisterns also feed cold water taps in the bathroom

· Steam/moisture in the roof space

· Hot water coming from the overflow.

The above symptoms can be caused by the failure of the thermostat. In such circumstances you should:

· Switch off the immersion heater immediately

· Run the taps until the water runs cold.

· Notify North Devon Homes immediately on 01271 312550 or if outside normal working hours on 0800 9170619.

What is NDH doing?

We are aware of how concerned our customers are about this incident and that you want to know what NDH is doing in response.

NDH is also following the advice from the HSE and are looking at the various options to eliminate the risk.

In addition, boilers are serviced every year by our Contractors and any faults corrected or reported to NDH for further action.

Where loft tanks have been fitted, contractors were instructed to fit them in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations, which means it would be fully supported, so are unlikely to be a high risk.

If you have any queries on the above, please call 01271 312550 to discuss your concerns.

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