Smell gas? What to do, in order.

Natural gas has no smell of its own. The gas company adds one on purpose so you can't miss a leak. If you notice it, here is what to do, in order.

How you would know

• Smell. Rotten eggs. UniSource Energy Services, the gas utility for this area, says that smell is added to natural gas to help people find leaks.
• Sound. A hissing, whistling or roaring noise near a gas line or appliance.
• Sight, outdoors. Dust blowing away from one spot on the ground, bubbling in standing water, or a patch of plants that has died or changed color for no reason.

What to do

• Don't make a spark. Don't flip light switches, use a phone, smoke or strike a match inside. UniSource lists every one of those.
• Don't go looking for it. Don't try to find the leak or work the valves yourself.
• Get everybody out, and get well away from the house.
• Then call, from outside: 911, and UniSource's 24-hour emergency line, 1-877-837-4968. If your house runs on propane, call your propane company.

After the gas company says it's safe

The gas company's job is to make the leak safe. If the problem turns out to be in the gas piping at your house, the repair is work for a licensed contractor, and gas lines are part of what we do. Any Arizona contractor's license can be checked with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors before you let them start.

Carbon monoxide: the one you can't smell

Carbon monoxide comes from gas appliances that aren't burning or venting right, and UniSource describes it as a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. Their advice:

• Have the furnace and anything else that burns fuel inspected every year.
• Keep vents and chimneys clear.
• Never use a gas oven to heat the house, not even for a little while.
• Put in carbon monoxide detectors as a backup, not as a replacement for keeping the appliances right.

Digging? Call first

Arizona law requires you to contact Arizona 811 at least two business days before you dig, so gas, electric and other buried lines get marked. That goes for a fence post as much as a sewer line. UniSource explains how it works.

— Heritage Plumbing, Prescott

← Back to all advice