Gas supply – persistent gas smell

Causes

Any type of leak

Listed under: gas, Services

Cause

Any type of leak

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

Back to top