Before anything else
If you smell gas
Natural gas has no smell of its own. The utility adds one like rotten eggs so you notice a leak. Do these in this order.
- 01
Get everyone out
Leave the house, and leave the door open behind you. Take the pets. Do not go back for anything.
Don't flip a light switch, use a lighter or run the garage door opener
Don't unplug anything
Don't start a car in the garage
- 02
Call from outside
Call 911 or your gas utility's leak line from the yard or a neighbor's house. The number is on your gas bill. Stay out until they say it is clear.
Say where you are and what you smell
Do not use a phone inside the house
- 03
Let the utility find it
The utility finds the leak and makes the house safe to enter. If it is in your piping, they may lock the meter until it is repaired.
- 04
Then call us
We repair or replace the line once the utility has cleared the house. Tell us what they found and whether the meter is locked.
We are not the first call for a smell
A repair is tested before the meter is reopened
Signs
What else can mean a leak
Any of these is worth the same call to the utility.
The smell
Rotten eggs or sulfur, in the house or by the meter.
A hiss
A hissing or whistling sound near a gas pipe or appliance.
Dead plants
A dead patch in a green lawn above where a gas line runs.
Bubbles
Bubbling in a wet spot or puddle outdoors, near a line.
In a calm moment
Know your shutoff valves
This is for a quiet afternoon, not a leak. In a leak, leave first.
Every gas appliance should have its own shutoff valve within reach. A quarter turn closes it: when the handle is across the pipe, the valve is closed. The main valve is at the meter, and your gas utility will tell you whether to close it. Find these now, and write them on the inside of a cabinet door.
Find these
Appliance valve: handle across the pipe is closed
Meter valve: the utility tells you when to close it
No valve behind your range or dryer? Ask us for one
Before a planned visit
What helps us on the day
- 01
The rating plate
A photo of the plate on the appliance. It names the fuel, the load and the model.
- 02
A clear path
Move what is in front of the range, the dryer or the meter, so we can reach the run.
- 03
Your fuel
Natural gas from a meter, or propane from a tank. If you are not sure, the bill or the tank says.
- 04
Pets and children
Kept in another room while a line is open.
The leak is cleared. Now the repair.
Once the utility has made the house safe, we repair or replace the line and test it.