Gas Leak Detection- Can You Tell By Smell When There’s A Gas Leak?

Maybe, but  then again, Maybe Not – Remember, Natural gas (and propane) is actually odorless so utilities add an odorant such as butyl mercaptan to help people be aware of or even identify the approximate location of a gas leak through their sense of smell.

Butyl Mercaptan smells something like Rotten Eggs!

So Natural Gas from your utility company smells like rotten eggs. And that is a good thing, but the concentration of odorant can vary so the strength of the smell is not necessarily a good indicator of how big the leak is, so regardless of the strength of the smell extreme caution is the operative mode even if you think you smell gas inside or outside your home or business.

Some people say they think a natural gas leak smells like rotten eggs, smells sulfurous and some women have said they just thought it was their husbands sneakers. Unfortunately some people work in places around similar smelling substances (Paper Pulp Plant for example), that are desensitized to the smell of butyl mercaptan and may never smell leaking gas.

At I.E. Plumbing Services we Employee the Latest State of the Art Hi-Tech Equipment to Locate and Pinpoint Gas Leaks in the Exterior and Interior of Your Home or Business

We use Electronic Sniffers, Ultrasonic equipment and even an infrared Thermal Imaging Camera that can pinpoint leaks in plumbing behind walls without ever laying a hand on the wall itself.

We can detect a gas leak in your Menifee Home or Business quickly and affect repairs in a  very timely manner so you are able to get back to your busy life feeling secure and confident knowing your gas leak problem has been resolved and you are once again living and working in safe environment.

A Simple Exposed Pipe Method to Detect a Minor Leak

Understand before we get into this, I.E.Plumbing Services does NOT Condone or Recommend You Check for Gas Leaks on Your Own!

So for the Do It Yourself Gas Leak Detection, folks (We know you are out there), since some of you are bound to try it on your own, here is some How To Locate a Gas Leak in your Menifee CA home on your own info because we want you to be as safe as possible.

Even the smallest gas leak can be dangerous in a confined area. And if you aren’t quite sure you have a gas leak because you can’t hear gas leaking or can’t smell gas, just the fact that you suspect a leak means you should take certain precautions if your leak is inside your home versus outside.

1. Only attempt this method of minor gas leak detection if the line, pipe or gas plumbing you suspect is leaking is easy to see and easy to access.
2. Do NOT turn any lights or other electrical appliance on or off. The resulting spark can ignite the gas causing serious injury.
3. Do NOT move any appliances that have exposed bare metal that could rub against another piece of metal causing a spark, igniting the gas causing an explosion.
4. Ventilate the area by opening doors and windows but again do NOT turn on an electric fan to aid in ventilation.

If you believe you have a leak at an easy to access section of gas plumbing inside or your meter or the gas line to your property outside, you can check yourself prior to calling a qualified technician but of course that would be your best bet.

This is a fairly safe method using only soap and water. You can place some water and dish soap into a small spray bottle and spray your pipe or fittings or place the soapy water in a cup and using a small paint brush just brush the liquid over the fittings. If you have a leak you will notice the soapy substance creating bubbles at the fitting.

If you have found a leak using the above method, turn off the gas at your gas meter.

At this point, unless you are a licensed plumber your absolute best move is to call a licensed plumber. I.E. Plumbing Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including weekends and holidays. In most cases we can have the problem resolved the same day or even less time depending on the situation.