What Should I Do If I Smell Gas In My Home?

Propane Safety Is Of Utmost Importance!

Because propane is well-regulated and the propane industry has high standards, propane has a strong record when it comes to safety.

Poore’s Propane delivery drivers and service technicians are trained in the latest best practices for propane safety, so you can have peace of mind. Even with that, you still need to know what to do in the rare event of a propane gas leak.

The first thing you need to do is know what propane smells like. Since propane has no odor on its own, an odorant is added during processing to make a leak detectable. The smell of the odorant is usually described as being like rotten eggs.

Gas Leak Instructions

These steps are necessary to keep people and property safe, so you must take them as soon as you smell propane.

• Get everyone out of the house immediately.
• Extinguish all possible ignition sources such as candles or cigarettes.
• Don’t use any appliances, light switches, lamp switches, or telephones on your way out.
• If you can safely get to it, turn off the propane supply valve on your propane tank.
• Once you are a safe distance away, use your cell phone or a neighbor’s phone to call 911 and Poore’s Propane.
• Stay away, even if you no longer smell gas. The first responders and service technicians need time to find the source of the leak. The service technician then needs to fix it, make sure everything is safe, then professionally relight all of the propane appliances’ pilots. Wait for permission before going back.

Should I Install A Propane Leak Detector?

There are extremely rare occurrences where you may have a propane leak in your home and not be able to smell that rotten-egg odor. Those reasons include:

• Excessive air, water, or rust inside your propane tank
• An underground propane tank leak (propane’s odorant dissipates in soil)
• The odorant “sticking” to the inside of the propane distribution pipes
• You have a cold, allergies, sinus problem, or other medical condition hampering your sense of smell, such as the effects of COVID-19

If you use propane appliances in your home, you need a propane leak detector. These will give you an alert to warn you of a propane leak, regardless of whether or not you can smell the odorant.

Propane leak detectors are inexpensive and are available at your local hardware or home improvement store, or online.

Even if you have carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in your home—which you should have on every level of your home, including the basement, and outside all sleeping areas—you need a propane leak detector because CO detectors do not detect propane leaks.

Poore’s Propane is dedicated to the safe delivery and handling of propane and all applicable home systems. Contact us with any questions you have—your safety is important to us!