The smell of gas is a serious safety issue. Mains natural gas and LPG both contain an odorant (mercaptan) added specifically so leaks are detectable by smell, the smell is like rotten eggs or rotten cabbage. If you can smell gas, there is a real leak somewhere and you need to act quickly and carefully.
What to do, in order
- Do not flick any switches. Light switches, power points, even lift call buttons in apartments. The spark from operating a switch can ignite gas. If a light is already on, leave it on. If it is off, do not turn it on.
- Do not use any electrical devices. Phones, torches, doorbells, garage door openers. The spark inside the device can ignite gas. Use stair access in apartments, not lifts.
- Open windows and doors to ventilate if you can do so quickly without using mechanical openers. Hand-operated windows yes, automated systems no.
- Get everyone outside. People and pets. Move at least 10 metres from the building.
- Turn off the gas at the source if you can do so safely. For mains natural gas, the meter valve is at the front of the property (typically a quarter-turn handle on the gas meter assembly). For LPG, the bottle valves at the cage (turn clockwise until firm). Only do this if it does not involve using any electrical switches and you can reach the valve safely.
- Call us from outside on 0472 657 042. If you cannot reach us, call the gas supplier emergency line (Origin, AGL, Energy Australia for natural gas; Elgas, Origin, Kleenheat for LPG). For mains natural gas you can also call APA Group emergency line (1800 GAS LEAK / 1800 427 532).
- Do not re-enter the building until a licensed gas fitter confirms it is safe.
What we do when we arrive
- Confirm gas is off at the source.
- Ventilate the building thoroughly.
- Use a gas leak detector (combustible gas indicator) to locate the leak.
- Repair the leak (replace failed fitting, repair damaged line, etc).
- Pressure-test the entire gas system with a manometer to confirm no other leaks.
- Restart the gas and recommission appliances.
- Issue gas compliance certificate for the repair.
Common causes of gas leaks we find
- Failed flexi gas connector to a gas appliance, especially older fittings approaching end of life.
- Loose fitting at a connection point, sometimes due to vibration, sometimes due to a previous repair not tightened properly.
- Cracked regulator at the meter or bottle.
- Damaged gas line external pipe hit by garden tool, mower, or vehicle.
- Pilot light not lit on older gas storage HWU or wall heater, gas continues to flow when pilot is out.
- Appliance valve failure internal to the cooktop, oven, HWU, etc.
- Underground gas service leak rare, but happens, especially on older properties.
How to tell if the smell is actually gas
Natural gas and LPG both have a distinctive rotten-egg or rotten-cabbage smell (mercaptan odorant). Sometimes people mistake other smells for gas, sewer gas (similar but from drains, not from appliances), animal urine, decomposing food. If the smell is concentrated near a gas appliance or the meter, treat as gas. If the smell is in a bathroom or near a drain, more likely sewer gas (separate issue, still worth investigating).
If you are unsure, treat as gas and call us. Better to be wrong about gas than wrong about no-gas.
What about LPG-specific situations
LPG (used on acreage and some hinterland properties) has the same odorant as natural gas but behaves differently in air, LPG is heavier than air and pools in low-lying areas (basement, sub-floor space, low rooms). Be especially careful in low areas of the property.
If both bottles in your auto-changeover service have suddenly emptied, possible causes include a regulator failure (both bottles drain via the failed regulator), a connecting hose failure, or a leak downstream. Call us, do not refill until we have diagnosed.
Response time
Gas leak emergencies are our highest priority. We aim to be on-site within the hour 24/7 anywhere on the Gold Coast. Acreage and hinterland properties typically 60-90 minutes due to travel distance. Phone 0472 657 042.
What does emergency gas leak repair cost?
- Business hours emergency callout, $220-380 first hour including travel and diagnosis
- After hours / weekend / public holiday, $340-560 first hour
- Repair varies by cause, typically $150-600 on top of the callout
- Compliance certificate included
If you are uncertain whether to call us, call. Gas leaks are a category where it is always better to over-react than under-react. We would much rather attend a false alarm than be too late to a real leak.
Why mercaptan smell varies in strength and what that tells you
The rotten-egg odour you smell with a gas leak is mercaptan, an artificial odorant added to natural gas and LPG specifically so leaks are detectable. The smell strength can give clues about the leak size and location. A faint intermittent smell that you notice only when you walk into a specific room, then disappears, often indicates a slow leak at an appliance fitting that the room ventilates between detection events. A strong consistent smell across a whole area indicates a significant leak that has reached saturation in the indoor air. A smell concentrated outside the house near the meter or bottle cage points to a leak in the supply line, regulator or meter assembly. A smell that comes and goes with appliance operation (smell when cooktop is on, gone when off) indicates a leak at the appliance gas valve or burner. The location and pattern of the smell helps us go straight to the likely source when we arrive. Do not try to investigate yourself, just note what you smelled, where, and when, and tell us when we arrive.
What olfactory fatigue is and why you cannot trust your own nose after a few minutes
Mercaptan triggers a strong response on first exposure but the human olfactory system rapidly desensitises to constant stimulus, a phenomenon called olfactory fatigue. After 10-15 minutes in a gas-exposed environment your nose stops detecting the mercaptan even though the gas is still present. People die from gas-related incidents at houseparties where everyone smelled the gas initially, ignored it, got used to it, and then carried on as if nothing was wrong. The lesson, the first time you smell gas is when you should act, do not wait for the smell to get worse or stronger because your perception of it will not increase. If you smell gas and then ten minutes later you smell less gas, do not assume the leak is fixing itself, you have just adapted to the constant odour. Get outside, get to fresh air for at least 10 minutes to reset your nose, then phone us from outside.
LPG-specific risks for hinterland and acreage properties
LPG behaves differently from natural gas in air and the difference matters for safety response on Tallai, Mudgeeraba, Numinbah, Springbrook and other hinterland properties with bottle gas. Natural gas is lighter than air and rises toward the ceiling, escaping through eaves and roof vents in a leak event. LPG is heavier than air and pools at the lowest point, the floor of a sub-floor laundry, the bottom of a basement, the lowest point of a stairwell, the lowest part of a sloping block. This means LPG leaks in low areas can build up to explosive concentration without the smell reaching nose level. If you have LPG and you smell gas, check the low spots specifically. Cracking a door at floor level rather than just opening windows at chest height ventilates an LPG accumulation faster. Get pets and children out first, they are lower to the ground and exposed to higher concentrations. Never use any electrical switch including a phone in a low area where you suspect LPG has pooled. The bottle cage itself is the second priority after evacuation, twin 45kg bottles can be isolated at the cage valves (turn clockwise until firm) which stops the supply at the source.
Carbon monoxide is the silent companion risk to a gas leak
Mercaptan-detectable gas leaks are the obvious risk but a related risk is carbon monoxide poisoning from incomplete combustion in a faulty gas appliance. Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless, the mercaptan in your gas supply does not warn you because the CO is produced inside the appliance, not in the supply line. Symptoms of CO exposure include headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion and unusual fatigue. If multiple people in the household develop similar symptoms that improve when they go outside and return when they come back in, suspect CO. Common causes include a blocked or damaged flue on a gas hot water unit (especially older Vulcan or Aquamax storage units in cupboards or sub-floor spaces), a yellow-flaming gas cooktop burner indicating incomplete combustion, a gas heater that has not been serviced recently, and damaged or corroded heat exchangers on continuous flow units. Battery-powered CO alarms ($30-60 from any hardware store) installed near gas appliances are inexpensive insurance. We test for CO during every gas safety inspection and during any gas appliance service call. Two checks together, mercaptan smell for supply-line leaks and CO alarm for combustion issues, cover the main household gas risks.
What to do if you cannot find the gas isolation valve
Plenty of Gold Coast homeowners cannot point to their gas meter isolation valve, especially renters and recent purchasers. If you smell gas and cannot find the shutoff, do not waste time hunting through the property looking for it. The priority order is, get everyone outside first, phone us or the gas supplier emergency line from outside, and only then attempt to locate the meter if you can do so safely while waiting. Natural gas meters are almost always at the front boundary of the property, typically in a small meter box near the front fence or on the front of the house wall. The isolation valve is usually a quarter-turn handle on the gas pipe immediately downstream of the meter, turn 90 degrees so the handle is across the pipe rather than along it. LPG cages are wherever the original installer put them, usually on the side of the house with truck access for delivery. The bottle valves are on top of each bottle, turn clockwise until firm. If you have not done this before, the first time should not be during an emergency, take five minutes after we visit and ask us to show you where everything is. We do this walk-through as part of every gas job we attend, no extra charge.
Response timeline expectations and what we do en route
For declared gas leak emergencies we aim to be on site within 60 minutes of phone contact for any Gold Coast suburb, faster for inner-coastal locations (Surfers, Broadbeach, Burleigh) and slightly longer for hinterland properties (Tallai, Mudgeeraba, Springbrook) due to travel distance. While we are en route we will stay on the phone with you if you want, providing safety guidance and confirming that the property has been evacuated. Do not attempt to wait in or near the building, stay at least 10 metres away. If the gas supplier has been called separately (APA Group for natural gas or your LPG supplier emergency line), they typically attend within similar timeframes and have authority to isolate at the street main if needed. After we arrive we will do a full external assessment, isolate at the meter or bottle, ventilate the building, locate and repair the leak, full pressure test of the system, recommission affected appliances, and issue a compliance certificate for the repair. Cost varies by scope, $220-560 for the callout plus $150-600 for the repair, compliance certificate included.