Gas Leak in Your House? Signs, Symptoms & What to Do Immediately

Not sure if it's a gas leak? That's the dangerous part about doubt. A rotten-egg stench, hissing near a gas line, an orange flame instead of blue on burners, and patches of dead grass outdoors can all be warning signs of a gas leak. Your body may show symptoms of a gas leak: headaches, dizziness, weariness, and nausea that disappear when you leave the house.

If you smell gas right now:

• Get everyone and every pet outside immediately
• Don't touch light switches, phones, or appliances
• A single spark can ignite gas
• Once you're well away from the house, call 911 or your gas utility's emergency line
• Don't go back inside until they tell you it's safe

Below: what to look for, who to call and repair prices. Begin with the indication that most people notice initially.

What Does a Gas Leak Smell Like?

A gas leak smell is similar to rotten eggs, sulfur or a skunk. Natural gas has no scent, so utilities add a chemical called mercaptan to make leaks easy to smell. You can tell a lot by how strong that natural gas leak smell is.

When you light a burner, you should smell a mild scent. A gas smell in your house that lingers or gets stronger isn't normal. Two caveats. Some people can't detect it at all, and a strong odour dulls your sense of smell in minutes. Don't trust your nose alone.

What Else Smells Like a Gas Leak?

Gas isn't all unpleasant smells. Sewer gas smells similar but comes from a drain, often a dry P-trap no one uses. Run water through it only after you've checked for gas. A strong stink can also come from cleaning chemicals, a dead animal in a wall, or rotting food.

This is what sets them apart. One fixture is leaking gas, not the room. If you detect a gas leak in the air in general, or strongest near the stove, water heater, or furnace, treat it as gas. If you can't find the source in seconds, move on. Rule these out from without, never from within.

Is That Smell a Gas Leak?

The most common symptom is a smell, but it's not the only one. Some leaks smell very little or not at all.

Signs of a Gas Leak in Your House

Some leaks are too small to smell, especially outside or underground. Here's a breakdown of the warning signs of a gas leak people miss, by where you'd find them.

Signs Inside the House

Wondering how to tell if there is a gas leak when you can't smell one? Check for these:

• A hissing or whistling sound from a gas line, water heater or furnace, even if the equipment is off
• Burner flames that are orange or yellow instead of blue, which shows the gas is not burning cleanly
• A white or dusty mist near a gas line or pipe
• Soot markings or black stains surrounding gas appliances
• A sudden increase in your gas bill, with no increase in your usage
• Pilot lights go out

Call a licensed professional if any of these conditions occur and stop using the appliance.

Signs Outside the House

Homeowners never think to check for underground leaks. Inside, they won't smell like anything; therefore, here are the indicators of a gas leak in home exteriors that matter:

• Bubbles in standing water, puddles or muck on your property
• Patch of dead or browning grass or drooping plants when everything else appears healthy
• Dirt, blowing dust from the ground, no breeze
• Hissing around the gas meter or where the line enters your property

Why do plants die on top of a hidden leak? Gas displaces oxygen at the roots, so the plants suffocate before anyone smells anything. You call your gas utility. Any of them, even if nothing seems amiss inside. Warning signs aren't only in your residence. Sometimes the first one is in the people who live in it.

Physical Symptoms of a Gas Leak: What It Does to Your Body

The Symptoms of a gas leak include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and eye or throat irritation. They occur because natural gas displaces oxygen in the air. Your body gets less of it.

One pattern gives it away better than any single symptom: you feel sick at home, better when you go out, and then worse again when you get home. How severe it gets depends on how much gas is escaping and how long you've been breathing it.

Signs and Symptoms of a Gas Leak in People and Pets

Where you sit matters because the physical signs of a gas leak worsen with exposure.

1. Early and Mild: headache, dizziness, weariness, nausea, eye and throat discomfort, loss of appetite.
2. Worsening: Chest pain, abnormal breathing, nosebleeds, ringing in ears, mood swings, difficulty concentrating.
3. Severe, a medical emergency: fog, blurred vision, loss of consciousness.

If someone has serious symptoms, go outside and call 911 for medical help. Don't wait to confirm the leak first. Pets are closer to the ground and smaller than people, and they often show it before people do. Look for trouble breathing, tiredness, disorientation, vomiting or rejecting food. A pet that is sick at home and perky outside needs to be taken seriously.

Gas Leak vs. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Why the Difference Matters

These two are always confused, and the difference is important. Natural gas has an added smell and explosion risk. Carbon monoxide is completely odourless and poisons you instead. If the furnace fails, it can produce CO without any leak. CO is produced when gas isn't burned completely.

Carbon monoxide symptoms are similar to a gas leak, but bright red lips or an exceptionally pink complexion indicate CO. This is where most people go wrong. A carbon monoxide monitor can not detect natural gas leaks. You need both alerts.

Whatever you're up against, the response is the same. Here is exactly what to do, and never to do.

What to Do If There's a Gas Leak in Your House

The brief version at the top is those four steps. Here's the thinking behind each. What to Do Now:

1. Remove everyone. People and dogs far away from the house.
2. No cell phone usage inside. This is where most people mess up. Your reaction is to call 911 as you walk out, but a spark from a screen or static can ignite gas. Call when you come out.
3. Don't touch electrical things. No switches, no garage door opener, not even a lantern.
4. If the scent is severe outside, warn your neighbours.
5. If it's free, vent away. If it doesn't take any time, open a door as you leave. Never go back for just one.

What You Should Never Do During a Gas Leak

• Do not look for the source; do not try to repair it
• Do not use a match, lighter or candle
• Don't start a car near the house
• Don't turn appliances on or off

Two that people are surprised by: don't put out a gas fire, because extinguishing it fills the space with unburned gas that can explode. Propane pools in basements and crawl spaces, so get to higher ground.

Who to Call for a Gas Leak in Your House

Who to call for gas leak emergencies in the house? Most people don’t know. That depends on the stage. Now: Call 911 or your gas utility's emergency number. Policies differ, but response is usually free. When they get there: The utility shuts off the gas and verifies the leak. They don't repair piping inside your home. 

For the repair: you need a licensed plumber for gas leak repairs or a gas fitter. When the gas is safely cut off, search for gas leak repair near you on GoGeter. The utility's visit will tell you whether you leak. It doesn’t say what caused it or what it will cost to fix.

What Causes a Gas Leak, and What Repair Costs

Before paying, identify the cause of a gas leak in your home's piping. Repeatedly, a handful of perpetrators resurface:

• Loose appliance connectors behind a stove, dryer or water heater. Most common reason, often disturbed when moving or renovating
• Old or rusted pipes, especially in older residences
• CSST lightning damage, when the strike is close enough to puncture the flexible yellow tubing in newer homes
• Broken equipment, especially water heaters and furnaces
• When you call 811 before any digging, you learn that digging strikes

And now for the part everyone wants to know. Start with the free option: your gas provider will normally not charge you for an emergency leak check and cutoff. You're paying to find the leak on your property and repair it.

Most homeowners pay between $272 and $936 to repair a natural gas leak, with labour costs ranging from $45 to $150 per hour. The price depends on where the leak is, particularly if walls, concrete or soil have to be opened up.

Two things to watch out for. Calls at night and on weekends are 50% or more, and rapid emergency dispatch might double or triple fees. On the other side, owner's insurance can help; a sudden accident is usually covered, but progressive wear and tear isn't. Check your policy before you book.

What Is a Gas Leak Detection Service?

A gas-leak detection service used electronic detectors and pressure tests to find a leak, which the utility confirmed but could not find. You need one if the leak is in a wall, under a slab or in a buried yard line.

A pressure test costs between $75 and $500, and a comprehensive gas system inspection averages about $150. Compare gas leak detection services near you on GoGeter. Here’s what it costs to fix a gas leak in a house, depending on where the leak is.

Gas Leak Repair Costs

Each utility has its own emergency response policies. Check yours out. Leak location costs vary greatly. Get multiple quotes & compare gas leak repair services on GoGeter.One leak fixed is one leak. The best protection for the house is to catch the next one early.

How to Prevent a Gas Leak in Your Home

Gas leak prevention comes down to a few behaviours, most of which take minutes. Install both smoke detectors.

1. Install a natural gas or propane detector and a separate carbon monoxide alarm on every floor and near beds. One doesn't catch what the other does, as we mentioned earlier.
2. Book an annual inspection. Every year during your annual HVAC maintenance service, have gas appliances, furnaces, flues and vents checked.
3. Check your burner flames. Blue is correct. Yellow or orange means the gas isn't burning cleanly. Call a pro.
4. Locate your shutoff valve before you need it. Usually it's outdoors, by the meter. 811 Before You Dig. Every time, and it's free.

Clear away stored chemicals, paint or flammables from gas appliances. Only the pros can detect leaks. If you're asking how to check for a gas leak in house plumbing yourself, the truth is you shouldn't. Professionals utilise electronic detectors and pressure testing to locate leaks securely.

Gas Leak in Your House: What to Remember

The most common signs of a gas leak is the smell of rotten eggs, but it's not the only sign. Look for hissing around a gas line, orange flames in the burners, grass dying outdoors and headaches that go away as you leave the house. The last is the most important. If you feel better outside and worse at home, take it seriously. Do you smell gas right now? Get out and call from outside.

Not sure? Install both detectors and schedule an annual appliance service. A gas leak in your home is terrible. But it's also fixable. Almost all leaks are found and fixed without injuring anyone. The only real mistake is waiting to be sure before doing something.