Urgent advice needed about hot water

[BobbyJoe]

Hi everyone, newcomer here looking for urgent advice as I am not sure what to do. I moved into my flat about 6 months ago and the landlord had installed a compact combi boiler which is about 3 years old and said it doesn’t need servicing. The problem is that whenever I use the hot water to (shower/bath/wash hands) my skin gets chapped I break out in a terrible rash which starts out as an itch then always a tiny cluster of little blisters appear which then bleed when scratched (looks similar to a fracking rash). I have never had any skin problems before and only when I moved into the flat that I noticed after about a month I was always itchy after using the hot water, so I decided to do some detective work.
The stopcock under the sink was replaced last month so that is fine, the pressure on the boiler is also fine, the mains cold supply is safe and I don’t have a water tank as the water is supplied via the cold mains. I told the landlord who said there shouldn’t be a problem as the boiler was checked a few years ago. I was told not to touch the “cold water inlet stopcock” which is just under the boiler but I did turn it to see what it does, instead of the cold water it controls the hot water pressure and clockwise it turns the water off and anti-clockwise it turns it on. Now for the strange part, when I turned it halfway I noticed within days that whenever I used the hot water I didn’t itch and the rash started to clear so what could the problem be does something need be replaced or is some inlet/outlet part in the wrong way around? How much is the cold-water inlet stopcock meant to be turned because when I turn it fully anti-clockwise and have a lot of water pressure, my skin breaks out, becomes chapped and the blisters appears.
Would anyone be able to offer any help or advice on this because I finally managed to get this flat and this problem is stressing me out that I am considering moving out and will then have to forfeit my deposit. I feel disappointed that the landlord and agency are not considering this as a problem because they say that everything such as the safety of the drinking water is safe but I know the problem lies with the hot water as I left for a few weeks and stayed at a friend’s house and my skin cleared up including the blisters but as soon as I came back to my flat within days it reappeared.
I would be very grateful if anyone can offer me any advice or suggestions thank you.

 

[Riley]

Very weird. You only need to post once otherwise the mods will think it's spam. Is it all hot water outlets or just the shower

 

[Riley]

Ps a gas boiler needs servicing every 12 months. Typical landlord thinks that a gas safety certificate is all he needs for a healthy boiler

 

[joni os]

Hi, BobbyJoe, thanks for posting. Can't give specific answer, but can confirm friend had similar problem, which, until reading your post, I had dismissed as an unspecified allergy. Her husband was unaffected and she was able to shower at other properties in the area IP33. with no adverse effects. Symptoms cleared up when they moved to new property, in same town.
Both properties had combi boilers so I would not identify combi's alone as the cause. What combi's will do is take cold water, chemically treated for safety and clarity, heat, and send it instantly to your hot water outlet. With a regular boiler, the body of water is heated at a slower pace and any transient effects of heating have time to stabilize in the DHW cylinder. Hopefully other posters will be able to clarify . Please keep us informed of your outcomes.

 

[jonnyswamp]

Get your landlord to service the boiler and change your soap, sounds like your using drain cleaner instead of shower gel
SPAM

 

[BobbyJoe]

Thank you so much everyone for the answers so far, the water in the kitchen and bathroom are both affected, I know it comes across as odd. My landlord knew I was a vulnerable adult and I feel is taking advantage because he cant be bothered to look into the matter which I don't understand because an agency handles everything concerned with the flat. I have been using a lot of ointments from my G.P and taking allergy medication for months but nothing is helping as my skin is really bad including eyelids, ears which are the most sensitive.

The Boiler is now going into its 4rth year since installation and has never been serviced so I think a servicing should be done and I will demand one because it could be a part needs updating or cleaning. The agency told me that a gas safety check was done last month and nothing is wrong however a gas check doesn't check the boiler and the parts or does it? If the landlord refuses to help any further then I will seek out a boiler engineer to check it all out because I can not keep on living with this and worse case scenario will need to move out.

Vokera 29a Compact Combi Boiler (4rth year in)

 

[BobbyJoe]

Hi I just need some clarity on something, the landlord just informed me "That a gas safety check has already been carried out on the boiler this year and the landlord does not require to carry out a service as this is not a safety check". But I was talking about a boiler engineer coming out to service the boiler but he didn't answer this question, so I need to know do I need to get a engineer to come and check it or is what the landlord stating enough not to, thank you for any clarity. If I get an engineer to service it what is an rough estimate of cost?

 

[Riley]

Sadly there is no legal requirement to service the boiler. A landlord is obligated to carry out a gas safety inspection on an annual basis if they are letting the property to tenants.

 

[Dotty]

Have you tried talking to environmental health?

 

[Last Plumber]

Can you take a water sample to a lab and get it analysed