Gas supply – persistent gas smell
Repair
- while natural gas itself has no smell, a harmless gas that has a pungent odour like smelly socks is added to natural gas to make it easier to identify leaks
- if you smell this, do not switch any electrical equipment on or off and put out all naked flames. Don’t use a mobile phone inside the house
- turn off the piped gas supply at the meter. For bottled gas, turn off by screwing the valves clockwise
- turn off your gas appliances
- open doors and windows to ventilate the house
- if turning off the gas supply and gas appliances doesn’t seem to stop the leak, get everyone out of the house then call 111
- in all cases of gas leaks, contact the gas supplier for advice. Companies usually have 24-hour 0800 numbers to call
- do not turn your gas supply or appliances on again until a registered gas fitter has checked your home and given the all-clear
- you can buy a small gas detector that works in a similar way to a smoke detector. When it senses the presence of flammable gas, the detector provides a sound alarm