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
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.
Comments
0 comment