fumes from boiler flue nauseating- please advise

[Trisha88]

Hi

Hope someone can help!

The flat below me has a boiler flue near to my living room window. Sometimes I hear a very loud pumping/whirring type noise from the flat below and it coincides with the most awful acrid smell- similar to a motor bike revving it's engine- coming from the flue into my livingroom. The smell is so strong it makes no difference if the window is shut.

The flat is let and the previous tenant said that the boiler was rarely checked in 5 years. The landlord is very unreasonable and difficult.

Can anyone tell me if these fumes are harmful?

I should point out this is not the normal condensation/steam which comes from the flue. I see that daily & it's odourless & I assume it's linked to the hot water being used in the flat. These pungent nauseating fumes only occur when the noise from the flat's central heating/boiler (?) occurs...

I look forward to hearing from someone. :juggle:

 

[woodsy]

i did this but the tenant wasn't too happy as he has a family and they have no hot water/heating & he just wants the boiler fixed....he admitted he wasn't that bothered about the gas safety issue.
[/QUOTE]

Which is why people keep dying of co !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mountainman]

"Your landlord is subject to laws"

Hi Mountainman-

I've just realized that you may have misread the thread. He's not my landlord. It's not my flat. I am a neighbour...I live in the flat above...

Apologies Trisha, I did indeed misread or misinterpret the thread.

Where to go from here??

It seems that you could be a victim of criminal negligence but none of the enforcement bodies are interested.

Hopefully one of the more legislatively informed members will be along soon.

I know what I'd do, but I couldn't recommend it to anyone else.

 

[Tap dancer]

I rang Transco once, never again.

I thought i smelt some fumes, possibly from the boiler. I expected them to come along with a fume detector, but they had nothing. Also, the fumes had gone when they arrived.

They did NO INVESTIGATION AT ALL, just slapped a "do not use" notice on it and turned off the gas.

I had to have a GSR in, there was no problem whatsoever with the boiler. In fact, I later found that a tin of something in the garage had leaked and was the cause of the fumes, until the liquid had evaporated.

All Transo did was tell me that if I even thought I had smelt fumes, whether I was right or not, they just condemmed the boiler as a matter of course, without doing anything at all.

 

[AWheating]

I rang Transco once, never again.

I thought i smelt some fumes, possibly from the boiler. I expected them to come along with a fume detector, but they had nothing. Also, the fumes had gone when they arrived.

They did NO INVESTIGATION AT ALL, just slapped a "do not use" notice on it and turned off the gas.

I had to have a GSR in, there was no problem whatsoever with the boiler. In fact, I later found that a tin of something in the garage had leaked and was the cause of the fumes, until the liquid had evaporated.

All Transo did was tell me that if I even thought I had smelt fumes, whether I was right or not, they just condemmed the boiler as a matter of course, without doing anything at all.

what do you want from a free emergency service?

they are there to make sure your safe not find and fix every problem for free. The came and made safe, YOUR ALIVE! simple.

 

[AWheating]

Update:

Gas safety advised me to tell the tenant that he should NOT allow an engineer to enter the premises today without a Gas safety ID number. I did this but the tenant wasn't too happy as he has a family and they have no hot water/heating & he just wants the boiler fixed....he admitted he wasn't that bothered about the gas safety issue.
I asked him to at least request the Gas safety engineers ID number for me so i could report back to Gas safety office.
I hope he does!

you should have said "whats the point of having hot water and heating if your lying on the floor dead from fumes?"

some people are so stupid, sadly and cant see the big picture.

 

[Tap dancer]

They could have used a fume detector to prove whether or not any fumes were coming from the boiler.

It was a complete waste of time calling them in, and it was nothing to do with my boiler.

 

[CMairiD]

Trisha, after the repair if the noxious fumes continue, you could always try the Environmental department of your local council. If it can be proved that the fumes are a nuisance, even if the boiler is installed to manufacturer's instructions, then the council may deem it a statutory nuisance and could force the landlord to move it.

Most importantly though, you keep talking about your CO detector being clear. Do you mean a spot card detector? If so, then this is not a suitable form of CO protection. Instead you should have an audible CO alarm, that is installed to manufacturers instructions and routinely tested.

 

[AWheating]

They could have used a fume detector to prove whether or not any fumes were coming from the boiler.

It was a complete waste of time calling them in, and it was nothing to do with my boiler.

you reported fumes right?

what if you did not call them and you dropped dead that night? your property was made safe and you got a qualified person in to take a look. Do you think you should get work done for free? they are there to provide a service to make sure your safe not come and check your appliances for free.

they also dont carry analyser's as far as i know.

 

[mountainman]

JHC,
Where has the Professionalism and Duty of Care in our Profession disappeared to?

All I seem to encounter nowadays are managers of all levels who have the rule book strapped to their hearts and who are more fearful of their own job security than ensuring the safety of their customers and the quality of service that their engineers are trained and able to provide.

What can we do; other than moan about it? there must be SOMETHING!

We are qualified, licenced, many of us muchly experienced and honourable professionals, our decisions can be challenged and tested in a court of law, and as such we are expert witnesses.

I despair at this awful buck-passing society sometimes!

Rant over (for now) my chill pill is calling me...

 

[Tap dancer]

you reported fumes right?

what if you did not call them and you dropped dead that night? your property was made safe and you got a qualified person in to take a look. Do you think you should get work done for free? they are there to provide a service to make sure your safe not come and check your appliances for free.

they also dont carry analyser's as far as i know.

By the time he arrived, there was no trace of any fumes whatsoever. And the fumes had not even been a gas smell. I thought they would have had something to check for fumes, and whether or not they were from gas.

For all the good he did, I may as well have called in my local street sweeper and asked him to tell me to get a GSR to come.

 

[Tap dancer]

And by the way, about a mile from my house, a gas smell in the area was reported by several people.

Nothing was done about it.

A house blew up and was completely destroyed.

A girl of about 9 was killed, she just happened to be walking past.

"Lessons will be learned" they said.

 

[Koogatubac]

Gas safe is a joke. No1 listens or communicates until someone dies. My faith has gone with gas safe

 

[AWheating]

Sometimes i think it does not matter how many times you advertise and promote the dangers of co,gas leaks etc.... to many people dont care untill it happens to them, trouble is its too late in most cases. Even when they are told theres a fault they still dont want to have things turned off, people can die for all i care but dont commit murder and take your family and neighbours with you.

 

[REDSAW]

They could have used a fume detector to prove whether or not any fumes were coming from the boiler.

It was a complete waste of time calling them in, and it was nothing to do with my boiler.

i think they stopped using canaries years ago!.

a call to your local environmental health department is now needed as you are now laying the paper trail.
they should take a week and will act on your behalf. i have done this recently and now on the verge of court proceedings with the 'landlord' of a tennant of mine for dodgy work.

 

[Trisha88]

Hi again

Last night at 7.30pm I was pleased to see a big van arrived with a large "Gas safety" logo on it. Definitely not the landlord's regular guy.
The tenant downstairs had been up to see me again saying he was fed up as they'd had no heating/hot water for 3 days.
This morning the boiler was running as normal....making the usual loud whirring noise and produced the usual acrid/pungent exhaust type fumes....

I've achieved nothing by phoning Transco as all they did was antagonize the owner who then hurled abuse and sent me numerous unpleasant emails saying he was going to sue me for loss of income!!

they couldn't test as the boiler wasn't working-


"Trisha, after the repair if the noxious fumes continue, you could always try the Environmental department of your local council. If it can be proved that the fumes are a nuisance, even if the boiler is installed to manufacturer's instructions, then the council may deem it a statutory nuisance and could force the landlord to move it."

I think this may have to be the next step.

I just WISH somehow someone could just tell me what these fumes are cos if they aren't harmful then I'll let the matter drop.

Re: CO detector, the one arriving today is a good electric one...

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