Natural gas leaks occur pretty rarely considering the safety advancements that have been made over the past several decades. However, you still need to be aware of the potential dangers involved and the actions you can take to mitigate the situation. Natural gas is extremely flammable, so you will need to act quickly and decisively when an emergency arises. A small flame or spark can cause an explosion.
Signs of a Gas Leak in Your Home
There are several indicators of a gas leak that you need to be aware of so that you can easily detect it when the situation arises. Here are a few things you may notice which are usually an indication of a gas leak:
- The smell of rotten eggs (sulfuric vapors)
- A hissing sound emanating from the gas line
- A white cloud hovering near the gas line
- The appearance of bubbles in your water
- House plants that are either dying or in poor health
- A damaged gas line
- An increase in your gas bills
Health Symptoms That Are a Result of Gas Leaks
When there is a greater presence of gas in your home, then there is less oxygen for you to breath in, which can greatly affect your health and lead to more serious problems. There are several symptoms that are an indication of a gas leak, and they include:
- Having difficulties with breathing
- Feeling fatigued, drowsy, or dizzy
- Experiencing headaches, nausea, chest pains, nose bleeds, and flu-like symptoms
- Experiencing mood swings and reduced appetite
- You hear a ringing sound
- Your eyes and throat become easily irritated
Fire Hazards
You may not realize this, but flammable gas is practically omnipresent throughout numerous industries as well as inside our own homes. This makes it crucial for you to install gas and fire detectors to ensure that you can fix the issue quickly and avoid any hazardous events. They will also help you detect the source of the leak so that you can safely evacuate your home and have a professional quickly identify the problem and repair it in no time.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Extensive exposure to carbon monoxide can have severe effects on your health, but you can minimize your risk and limit any damage by installing gas detection monitors in your home or place of business.
If you do not detect the presence of carbon monoxide right away then you will experience extreme dizziness and even loss of vision. Other symptoms you will experience will include discomfort or pain in your chest or the rest of your torso. These symptoms will progressively get worse if you do not fix the issue and will end up sending you to the hospital.
What You Should When There Is a Gas Leak
Once you detect a gas leak, there are several things that you need to do immediately. You need to ensure that you, your family, your pets are evacuated from the premises, and you need to keep the doors open so that the gas isn’t trapped inside your home. Next, you want to call 911, your local fire department, or the gas company and alert them to the emergency. Make sure that you are calling emergency services from OUTSIDE your home.
When medics arrive on the scene, you will need to cooperate with them so that they can adequately provide you with treatment. If you are experiencing severe symptoms, then EMTs will likely transport you to the hospital for emergency treatment.
In some cases, you may suspect that there is a gas leak but you may not be able to confirm it. We recommend that you take note of the differences in air quality when entering and leaving your home. Try to determine if your symptoms are returning and leaving during this process. If there is a prominent gas-like odor inside your home then immediately turn off the gas pilot light. You will also want to open all your windows and doors and have a professional inspect your home.
If you believe that there is a gas leak in your home, don’t do any of the following:
- Use a phone inside your home
- Search for the source of the leak or attempt to repair it
- Switch on and off the lights inside your home
- Use any flammables inside your home, such as a lighter, candles, or matches
- Ignore the situation until it’s too late
Methods of Prevention
There are many preventative steps and procedures that you can take to ensure that a gas leak won’t arise in the future. Here is what we recommend:
Educate yourself. Stay aware of all the signs and symptoms of a gas leak so that you know how to act accordingly when the issue arises. You should also help educate your family and other loved ones so that they too have ample knowledge and preparation when they are faced with a gas leak. Everyone in your household should know what to do in these kinds of situations.
Have an inspector evaluate your home routinely. This will ensure that you will be able to avoid future gas leaks. An inspector will take a look at all of your devices and appliances that rely on natural gas. They will also inspect your gas line, furnaces, chimneys, and ventilation systems.
Optimize your home ventilation. You want to make sure that there are no obstructions around your gas-burning appliances and devices, otherwise gas will build up in these areas which can create a hazardous situation. We also recommend that you occasionally air out your home by opening all the windows and doors.
A fire extinguisher can come in handy. Gas leaks can occur at any moment, and the smallest spark can ignite a fire (for example, tiny sparks occur inside your cell phone, and this could easily cause a fire). If the fire is small and not yet out of control, then use your fire extinguisher to put it out before calling an HVAC professional to repair the gas leak in your home.
Conclusion
There are numerous indicators of a gas leak in your home and we strongly recommend that you educate yourself and your family on these ways in which you can mitigate an emergency. You need to act quickly and decisively so that you can prevent any major hazardous events from occurring in addition to protecting the health of you and your family. There are many steps to prevention and you should schedule routine inspections to avoid the dangers of a gas leak.