According to a survey, 69% of heating engineers said more households have delayed annual gas services in recent times due to cost, leaving occupants at risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
The survey by campaign group Project SHOUT revealed that 38% regularly encounter boilers, fires and cookers that need significant repair work or replacement, which the homeowner simply can’t afford.
Engineers also reported seeing a significant increase in dangerous appliances since the cost-of-living crisis began, with 45% saying they had seen a rise in dangerous appliances since a previous survey in 2021.
The research found that recent energy hikes combined with months of inflation have hit struggling households hard, with the loss of the winter fuel allowance set to put budgets under more pressure.
But poorly maintained and faulty gas appliances can emit deadly carbon monoxide, it cited, often referred to as ‘the silent killer’, as it can’t be seen, smelled or tasted.
Approximately 50 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning and thousands more are treated in hospital, research revealed. Common sources of CO are gas and oil boilers, gas hobs and fires, log burners and open fires, it noted.