Even if you don’t have a gas leak detector in your house, you can tell if you have a leak in your house through the following ways…

You have a rotten egg smell in your home. Because natural gas does not have any recognizable smell in its natural state, your gas company puts in a rotten egg odor to give you a heads up if there is a leak.

You hear hissing somewhere or, in some rare cases, see dirt coming out of the ground.

If you see something wrong with the connections of an appliance that uses natural gas, there is likely a leak. This would include things such as stoves and BBQ grills.

Once you know the general vicinity of the leak, you have to fix it ASAP. To find out where to start patching up the leak, apply a soapy mixture to where you think it is. You can get some water and mix some liquid soap into it.

Where there is leaking gas, there are bubbles. You may find out that all that is required to stop the leak is to tighten up a few connections. If the leak is coming somewhere from a tube, you are going to have to replace the tubing. Don’t turn off the gas valve too early or you will have no gas to test the bubbles on.

Some online sources of information tell you to immediately evacuate your house if you suspect gas in your house and others say that it is okay to stay and fix it yourself. What should you do? Use your own intuition. If the rotten odor smell is not that much, repair it yourself. If the smell is overpowering, by all means, evacuate your house and call 911.

Whether you decide to repair the leak yourself or evacuate your house, you have to make sure not to use any electricity (even telephones). Sparks from electronics can ignite the natural gas. Obviously, you shouldn’t smoke if you suspect a gas leak in your house.

Although you can often tell if you have a leak in your house, some leaks are not that easy to detect. By installing a gas leak detector you get a warning that something is wrong. You can buy a gas leak detector for about $100.

When deciding which gas leak detector to buy, it is better if you first read user reviews, online, from sites such as Amazon. The main problem with these devices is that they make many false alarms. You want one with good sensitivity.

Tags: Home Security