Signs of a gas leak in your home

Here's what to watch for, what to do if you suspect a leak, and what to absolutely never do. Written by a licensed Gold Coast gas fitter.

What natural gas (and LPG) actually smells like

Natural gas is odourless on its own. Gas suppliers add a chemical called mercaptan to make it smell — and it smells like rotten eggs or sulphur. Strong, unpleasant, hard to mistake once you know.

LPG (the gas in bottles for BBQs or rural homes) gets the same additive. Same rotten-egg smell.

If you ever walk into a room and think "what's that smell?", and it smells like sulphur, eggs, or something rotten — treat it as gas until proven otherwise. Don't assume it's the rubbish bin or a dead mouse in the wall. Check first.

Other signs of a gas leak

Smell is the main one, but it's not the only one. Look and listen for:

• A hissing sound near gas pipes, the meter, the cooktop, the hot water unit, or any gas appliance.
• Dust blowing or grass dying in a small spot near where your gas line runs underground (often near the meter on the wall, or in a strip across the yard).
• A yellow flame instead of blue on your cooktop or hot water unit — this is incomplete combustion, often from a bad gas/air mix.
• Soot stains above gas appliances.
• Higher than normal gas bills with no change in your usage.
• Physical symptoms — headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue when you're inside but better when you're outside.

Any of these on their own is a "get it checked" sign. More than one together is "get out and call a gas fitter today."

What to do if you smell gas — in order

1. Don't switch anything electrical on or off. Don't flick lights. Don't use the phone inside. A spark from a switch is enough to ignite a gas-air mix.
2. Don't smoke or use any open flame. Obvious, but worth saying.
3. Open windows and external doors if you can do it without crossing through where the smell is strongest. Ventilation reduces gas concentration fast.
4. Turn the gas off at the meter. On natural gas, the meter is usually on an external wall of the house. There's a lever or tap that quarter-turns — turn it 90° to OFF.
5. For LPG bottles, turn the valve on the bottle clockwise until it stops.
6. Get everyone outside. Including pets.
7. Call from outside. Ring us on 0472 657 042 any time, or for a very serious leak, call 000.

What never to do

• Never use a lighter or match to "test" for gas. People still do this. It's how houses explode.
• Never try to fix it yourself, even if you think you know where the leak is. Gas work in QLD is licence-only — and for good reason.
• Never ignore it because "it's only a small smell." Small leaks become big leaks.
• Never use ventilation fans, range hoods, or any electrical air-mover — the motor sparks could ignite the mix.

Why DIY gas work is illegal (and what happens if you try)

In Queensland, any work on gas pipework, fittings, or appliances requires a gas work licence. Unlicensed gas work is illegal, your house insurance won't cover anything that goes wrong, and you can be fined heavily by the Department of Energy and Public Works.

More practically: gas work that isn't done right will either leak or fail later in a much worse way. We've seen homes where someone "swapped a cooktop themselves" and the back of the cooktop was venting gas into the cupboard for weeks before anyone noticed.

What we'll do when we arrive

A licensed gas fitter has the tools to track down a leak fast — an electronic gas detector that sniffs out concentrations of methane in parts-per-million, plus pressure-test gear that pinpoints where in the system the loss is happening.

Most gas leaks fall into one of these buckets:

• A loose fitting or worn seal at an appliance connection — quick fix.
• A perished flexible hose on a cooktop or oven — replace it.
• A corroded or damaged copper line in a wall — open up, repair section, pressure-test.
• A failed regulator on an LPG bottle — replace.
• A leak at the meter union — utility provider job, but we can confirm and report.

Every gas repair we do comes with a compliance certificate. That's the bit that keeps your insurance valid and proves the work was done legally.

How to reduce your risk between checks

• Have your gas appliances serviced annually — especially hot water, heaters and cooktops.
• Replace flexible appliance hoses every 5-7 years; they perish.
• Don't paint over gas lines or fittings, you'll mask early signs of corrosion.
• If you've got an LPG bottle, keep it upright, in a ventilated spot, and never inside the house.
• Install a gas detector if you've got an indoor cooktop or unflued gas heater — they're cheap, they live in the ceiling, they save lives.

If you ever smell something off and you can't explain it, ring us. We'd rather come out and find nothing than not get called when something's actually wrong. 0472 657 042, 24 hours.