Act When You Find Gas Leaking in the Kitchen (USA)
Smell gas in the kitchen? Here is how to respond in the first critical minutes. The information presented in this article refers to US gas supplies and appliances only.
Contents
Steps
Quick assessment
- Determine the danger. The safety of people is always the first thing to consider, so heed the following first of all:
- If it is difficult to breathe or the smell is very strong or you can hear a loud sound of escaping gas leave the kitchen immediately and get any other people out of the building.
- Do not turn on light switches in or around the kitchen. Do not turn any electrical switches on or off, including doorbells.
- Do not use matches or any other naked flames.
- Do not use the bathroom as this triggers more gas.
- Do not smoke.
- Understand the signs of gas leaks, including:
- Strong "Rotten egg" smell
- Hissing or whistling noise
- Spraying dirt, dead or dying vegetation
- Call the emergency services. Use a neighbor's telephone for emergency help. Do not call from within your house and never use a cell phone or portable phone within the house if you suspect a gas leak. If you need to use a cell phone, go to the neighbor's house to use it.
- Open doors and windows. Do this only if you can breathe easily and the smell of gas is not overpowering and you cannot hear a loud sound of escaping gas.
- If you know how, turn the gas supply off at the meter or mains box.
- Do not turn the gas supply back on until the gas company instructs you to do so.
Checking the possible sources
If you can breathe easily and the smell of gas is not overpowering and you cannot hear a loud sound of escaping gas, perform the following checks, as relevant.
- Check the stove burners. If you can breathe easily and the smell of gas is not overpowering and you cannot hear a loud sound of escaping gas, check the stove for burners that are on but not burning. The knobs should all be in the same position (off). Turn all knobs to off.
- Check the oven. Look for an oven control knob. It should be in the off position. Turn the control knob to off. On a modern oven the control may be electronic. Pressing the off or cancel button will turn off the gas.
- Check the clothes dryer. Some clothes dryers are gas operated. If this is the case, turn the dryer control knob to off or press the off button. If it is not clear that the dryer is operated by gas, do not operate the controls.
- Check to see whether the pilot light on your boiler has gone out. This can be a common cause of a gas odor.
Getting the gas leak fixed
- Contact the gas company. Most all propane and natural gas supply companies will come to a residence and test for gas leaks. They will not perform the repair but they will identify the source of the gas leak.
- Get the leak repaired. Gas leaks, even very small gas leaks, will not fix themselves. Always contact the gas company for help in locating the leak and use an experienced repair person to repair the leak.
Tips
- If the gas service is turned off to a house all pilot lights will have to be relighted when the gas is turned back on. Pilot lights are used on older gas equipment such as water heaters and furnaces.
- Most gas leaks are caused by leaving an appliance in an unsafe condition.This includes leaving stove burners on but not burning or moving an appliance without checking the gas connections.
- The third most common cause is poor installation of new appliances.
- The second most common cause of gas leaks is the use of very old or broken appliances.
- Every gas appliance, has a gas shutoff valve where the appliance connects to the gas supply. Most all these shut-off valves have a handle that lines up with the gas supply pipe when turned-on and is at right angles to the pipe when turned-off. If the gas smell if not severe or hissing the gas can be turned off until the gas company evaluates the leak. Turn the valve clockwise until the handle is at a right-angle to the pipe.
- All gas service for a home can be turned off at the gas meter if the house is supplied with natural gas. Use a large adjustable wrench to grasp the square nut on the valve. Turn the nut until the two padlock holes line up.
Warnings
- Get people out of danger. Natural gas and propane are explosive. An accumulation of gas can destroy a building if it finds a source of ignition. Something as simple as turning on a light switch can cause the explosion. If there is any uncertainty about how severe the gas leak is, get all people out of the house. When all the people are accounted for and at a safe place then call for help. The gas company, or 911 emergency services can help. Do not call from anywhere near the kitchen. Preferably call from a neighbor's house.
- If breathing is difficult or the smell is very strong or you hear gas escaping, call 911 from a neighbor's house.
