Cymraeg
 
Stay Safe
 
Preparing your home for winter
 
Insulating your home helps to keep it dry and warm. It also helps to keep your heating costs down.
 
Top Tips:
  • Fit draught-proofing to seal any gaps around windows and doors
  • Insulate your home - there are many ways to stop heat escaping:
    - Make sure your loft has at least 10-11 inches (270mm) of insulation
    - If you have cavity walls, insulate them as well
    - Insulate your hot water cylinder and pipes
For more information on installing insulation, contact the National Insulation Association on 01525 383313, 9am - 5pm, Mon - Fri, or visit www.nationalinsulationassociation.org.uk .
 
If you can't do insulation work yourself, and have no family or friends to help, contact your local Care and Repair Agency who can advise you of any grant schemes you may be able to apply for. Call 029 2057 6286 to find out where your local Agency is.
 
The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme (HEES) is an Assembly Government funded scheme offers support for people living in Wales who are on low incomes, disabled or pensioners, to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Measures in qualifying households include loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, draughtproofing, hot water tank jackets, central heating and repairs to inoperable heating systems. HEES also offers a benefits entitlement check.
 
For more information or to make an application, you can either call 0800 316 2815 or visit www.heeswales.co.uk and apply online.
 
 
Staying safe at home
 
Fire Safety is especially important during the Winter. Your local Fire and Rescue service will carry out a free home fire safety check for you and fit smoke alarms if you do not already have them. Call them on 0800 169 1234 for more information.
 
Top Tips:
  • If you have open fires make sure that they are properly ventilated. Use safety guards and don't hang your washing near the open flames. If you use a fire or heater in your bedroom at night, always keep a window and door open.
  • Use your electric blanket as instructed and get it tested every three years. Remember never to use an electric blanket and hot water bottle together.
Click here to download 'Fire Safety in the Home', a useful leaflet produced by Fire Flash who promote fire safety in Wales.
 
 
Carbon Monoxide
 
Incorrectly installed, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated heating and cooking equipment which runs on fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal or wood) can give off carbon monoxide - an invisible, odourless toxic gas which kills more than 50 people a year in England and Wales. Low levels of carbon monoxide can cause serious harm to your health if breathed in over a long time.
 
Top Tips:
  • Have your heating and cooking appliances, flues and chimneys serviced at least once a year by a suitably trained, reputable, registered engineer.
  • Fit an audible carbon monoxide alarm that meets European Standard EN50291.
  • Keep rooms well ventilated when using an appliance and stop using an appliance if you think it might be giving off carbon monoxide gas.
  • If you suffer from symptoms that feel like food poisoning, viral infections, flu or simple fatigue and think they could be caused by carbon monoxide, see your doctor at once and say you think it might be carbon monoxide poisoning
To find out more about carbon monoxide safety, call the Health and Safety Executive Gas Safety Advice Line on 0800 300 363 8am - 8pm, Mon - Fri, and 10am - 4pm, Saturdays, or visit www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/index.htm. For general health advice and information visit www.nhs.uk/carbonmoxide.