No doubt youve seen in the movies where a house develops a gas leak and then bursts into flames. While you may thing that this is just a special effect, the reality is that it can actually happen in real life if you leave a gas leak unattended. The problem with natural gas leaks, is that the gas is odorless and colorless. Youll never know unless you hear the hissing sound coming from the gas line, and chances are you might be a little too late if youre that close. Fortunately gas companies have foreseen this and have added an odor to the gas. It will begin to smell like rotten eggs if you develop a leak, so you really will not need to worry about that. You can also install a natural gas detector which is a lot like a smoke detector, and will probably be just as handy in an emergency. But what exactly do you do if you notice a natural gas leak?

It is very important that you detect the signs of a natural gas leak as early as possible because if you allow it to go on it could cause some serious problems later on. Always make sure that you take the preliminary steps to avoid a disaster, and you can have your gas lines checked every once in a while to make sure that they are not failing or ruptured in any way. There is a chance though that something will happen, so in the event that it does happen you need to be ready to take action to protect yourself and your family.

There are a few things that you can do, and there are a few things that you SHOULD do. First and foremost you are going to want to get everyone out of the house. This is very important because the fumes from the gas can be quite toxic, and then there is the chance of it igniting and causing your roof to launch into orbit.

The next thing that you should do is call your gas company. They will show up relatively fast because they certainly dont want your house flying into orbit, after all that would probably be bad for business. They will either tell you that you were hallucinating, or they will tell you that you need to fix the line before they can do anything else. If that is the case, then you will need to contact a licensed plumber to help you fix your broken line. Once that is done then you can call the gas company and they will be more than happy to turn your gas line back on.

A gas leak does not have to be fatal or earth shattering in every instance. As long as you take the proper preventative measures and do what you are supposed to do when disaster does strike, you should be absolutely fine. Stop worrying and start preparing!