Keeping your home safe with a terminal illness

Looking after a house when you’re unwell can be hard, even with help. Sometimes when appliances relating to energy and water get worn out or broken, they can become dangerous.

Make sure you use reliable information and advice on how to keep yourself safe, such as:

You own your home

• British Gas: How safe is my boiler?
• Electrical Safety First: Safety around the home

You rent your home

If you are renting, you may be able to ask your landlord to organise repairs and maintenance.

• Take a look at Shelter’s information on what landlords should be doing to keep your home safe.

Hiring qualified and trusted gas engineers, plumbers and electricians is important to keeping your home safe. If someone does not have the right training, they could make mistakes that put you and the people who live with you in danger.

• Find a gas engineer on the Gas safe register.
• Find a registered electrician from Electrical Safety First.
• How to find a good plumber from Which?
• Find a technician for your open fire or wood burner (including chimney sweeps) from Hetas.
• Find an oil technician from OFTEC.

Appliances that burn gas, wood, oil or coal may give off carbon monoxide if they are broken or not fitted properly. This includes ovens, boilers, heaters, open fires, wood burners and more.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that can make you seriously ill. You cannot smell it.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning

If you have carbon monoxide poisoning, you might feel:

• dizzy
• sick (including actually being sick)
• weak
• confused
• chest and muscle pain
• shortness of breath
• headache

The NHS has information on carbon monoxide poisoning.

Signs of a carbon monoxide leak

If you have a carbon monoxide leak you might see:

• a yellow or orange flame on a gas appliance which should be blue
• flames that burn weakly, slowly or go out, including the pilot light on your boiler
• yellow or brown sooty marks on an appliance
• lots of condensation in a room with the appliance

If you think you have a carbon monoxide leak, get everyone out of the house straight away and call the National Gas Emergency Helpline. This is a different number depending on which part of the UK you live in. See What to do in a gas emergency from the Gas Safe Register.

Carbon monoxide and terminal illnesses

You will likely already have health issues which make you more at risk because of carbon monoxide leaks.

• It may be harder for you to notice the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning if you are already experiencing some of the symptoms.
• If you suspect that you have a carbon monoxide leak it is important to get outside, open windows and turn off appliances. This might not be easy to do if you are less able to move around.

Your home can become damp or mouldy for different reasons:

• cold temperatures inside that cause condensation
• water coming up from the ground
• water coming in from another source, such as a leaking gutter, pipe or roof

Damp and mould can cause problems with your breathing, your eyes and your skin. You may be more likely to get viruses and bacterial infections. It can also be stressful and upsetting when parts of your home or belongings are damaged.

Children and people at the end of their life are at a higher risk of getting health problems related to damp.

If you have damp and mould in your home:

• See National Energy Action’s advice on damp and mould.
• If you rent your home, Citizen’s Advice have information on damp and mould here.