You catch something faint. Maybe it is the trash. Maybe it is nothing. But part of you wonders if you should wake the house up.
Here is the rule we give every Houston homeowner who asks. If you think it might be gas, treat it as gas. Knowing whether you have a gas leak in your home comes down to a handful of signs and one rule about what to do next. We have repaired gas lines in Houston homes since 2003.
This guide covers the warning signs, the symptoms your body may notice first, and what to do in the next minute. It also covers who repairs the line after your gas gets shut off.
Natural gas has no smell of its own. Your utility adds a chemical called mercaptan so you can detect it. That is the rotten egg or sulfur smell people describe.
Watch and listen for these:
That yellow flame matters for a second reason. It means the gas is not burning properly, which raises your carbon monoxide risk too.
One more thing you need to know. A gas leak can exist with no smell at all. Small leaks may never register, and other household odors can cover them. Your nose is a useful warning, but it is not a test.
Your body may notice a leak before your nose does. These symptoms come on when gas displaces oxygen in the air.
Watch for:
Pay attention to the pattern, not just the symptom. If your symptoms ease once you step outside and return when you go back in, that is a strong clue. A headache alone means little. A headache that clears on the porch means something.
Look at everyone in the house. If several people feel off at the same time, take it seriously. Pets count too. A dog or cat acting sluggish alongside the rest of the household is worth noticing.
If anyone in your home has these symptoms, leave first. Get everyone outside, then seek medical care.
If you think you have a gas leak, do these things in this order.
Do not assume someone else called. Report it yourself, every time.
Natural gas becomes explosive at the right mix with air. That mix can be reached quickly in a closed room. Distance is what protects you, and every second spent doing something else is a second not spent leaving.
Do not try to find the leak. Skip the soapy water test, the flame check, and walking the lines with your nose. Locating a leak is a job for someone with detection equipment, standing in a house that has already been made safe.
Once the utility has shut your gas off, you will need a licensed plumber for the repair. See our 24-hour emergency plumbing in Houston.
Three different hazards get mixed up all the time. They smell different and mean different things.
| What it smells like | What it means | |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | Rotten eggs or sulfur, added on purpose | Flammable. Explosion and fire risk |
| Carbon monoxide | Nothing at all | Comes from fuel burning incompletely. Poisoning risk |
| Sewer gas | Rotten eggs or sulfur, from the drain side | A plumbing problem, often a dry trap or failed seal |
Carbon monoxide is the one that gives you no warning. You cannot smell it, see it, or taste it. It comes from an appliance that is burning fuel poorly, which is why that yellow flame matters.
Sewer gas confuses people because it smells similar to natural gas. The difference is usually where it comes from. A sulfur smell near a rarely used shower or floor drain often points to a dried-out trap. One near a range, furnace, or water heater points to gas.
Do not try to sort this out yourself while standing in the house. If there is any chance it is natural gas, get out and let someone with detection equipment make the call.
Your detectors do not cover each other. A natural gas detector will not pick up carbon monoxide. A carbon monoxide detector will not pick up a gas leak. If your home runs on gas, you need both, on every level.
Gas lines rarely fail without a reason. Here is what we find behind most of them.
Older Houston homes were piped with black iron. Those pipes join at threaded fittings, and the threads corrode over decades. The pipe body can look fine while the joint has quietly given up. Plenty of homes in Spring, Humble, and Klein still have their original gas piping in service.
Our soil works against buried lines. Clay swells with rain and shrinks in drought, and that movement pulls on anything running through it. Yard lines take the stress, and so does the connection where the line enters the house.
Appliance connections come loose more often than pipe does. Water heaters, ranges, dryers, and pool heaters all have a fitting that can work itself loose over time. Any time one of these gets moved, replaced, or added, that connection deserves a check.
Digging causes its share too. Hitting a buried line is a leading cause of damage, and it is fully preventable. Call 811 before you dig, every time, even for a fence post or a tree.
Flooding creates a different problem. Once water reaches your appliances and controls, the whole gas system needs inspection before service comes back on. Do not skip that step after a storm.
The utility and the plumber do two different jobs. Knowing the split saves you a lot of confusion.
Your utility confirms there is a leak and shuts the gas off at the meter. That makes the house safe. They do not locate the source inside your home, and they do not repair your lines. That part is licensed plumbing work.
Here is how we handle it from there:
That sequence is not optional and it is not something to shortcut. The retest and the inspection exist so nobody has to trust a repair that was never verified.
Most of the leaks we repair were preventable. A few habits handle nearly all of them.
Have your gas lines and appliance connections inspected once a year. A connection that is starting to loosen gives no warning until it is leaking. An inspection catches it while it is still nothing.
Get connections checked any time a gas appliance changes. New water heater, new range, new dryer, new pool heater. The appliance may be installed correctly and the fitting behind it still be the weak point.
Put detectors on every level of your home. You need natural gas detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, because neither one covers the other. Test them on a schedule you will actually keep.
Call 811 before you dig. Fence posts, tree planting, a new patio, all of it. The marking service is free and it takes one call.
Learn where your gas meter is now, while nothing is wrong. Knowing that on a calm afternoon is worth far more than trying to find it during an emergency.
On a gas line inspection, we check the meter connection and the line running into your home, test the system under pressure, inspect every appliance connection, and go over what we found with you.
Our plumbers are state licensed and background checked. We have served Houston homeowners since 2003, and we pull the permits and handle the city inspection on every gas line job.
Schedule a gas line inspection. Call (713) 812-7070.
A gas leak smells like rotten eggs or sulfur. Natural gas has no odor on its own, so your utility adds a chemical called mercaptan to make leaks detectable. If you notice that smell and cannot trace it to something ordinary, treat it as a leak and leave.
Yes, and this is why smell alone is not a reliable test. Small leaks may never produce a strong enough odor to notice. Other household smells can cover it, and the odor can fade in a room over time. This is why the physical symptoms and the sound of hissing matter as much as the smell.
Call 911 first, then CenterPoint Energy at 713-659-2111 or 888-876-5786. Make both calls from outside, at a safe distance from the house. Never call from inside. After the utility shuts off the gas, a licensed plumber handles locating and repairing the line.
Yes, because gas displaces oxygen in the air you are breathing. Common symptoms include headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and trouble breathing. The clearest sign is symptoms that ease when you step outside and come back when you go in. Pets are affected too.
No, and this catches a lot of people off guard. A carbon monoxide detector will not pick up a natural gas leak, and a natural gas detector will not pick up carbon monoxide. They sense different things. If your home runs on gas, you need both types, on every level.
Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electrical serves: The Woodlands, Katy Pearland, Spring, Cypress, Sugar Land, Humble, Kingwood, Friendswood, Missouri City, Pasadena and more. View All Service Areas » (please call to confirm service in your area)
Open Including Holidays
ALAN O’NEILL M-20628 | TACLA135747C | TECL 30557
© 2026 Abacus Plumbing, Air Conditioning & Electrical. All Rights Reserved