Natural gas has no smell of its own. The rotten egg smell you notice is added deliberately so that a leak can be detected before it becomes dangerous. If you notice this smell in your Kingsgrove home, take it seriously and act immediately.
Don’t touch a light switch, unplug anything or use your phone inside the house. Switches and plugs can create tiny sparks, which may ignite leaking gas. If it’s safe and easy, open a door or window on your way out and turn off the gas at the meter if you can reach it without putting yourself at risk. Get everyone outside immediately.
Once you’re safely in the open air, call 000 and ask for Fire and Rescue NSW. You should also contact Jemena’s 24-hour gas emergency line on 131 909 to report the suspected leak. Whether you’re dealing with a gas leak in Kingsgrove or another nearby Sydney suburb, never attempt to locate or repair the leak yourself. Leave the property until emergency responders confirm it’s safe to return.
How serious is your gas smell?
A faint whiff near the cooktop that disappears in seconds is different from a smell that fills a room. Tick what applies for a rough guide, but if the smell is strong or you feel unwell, leave first and read the rest from outside.
Where a gas smell usually comes from
Most gas smells inside a home trace back to an appliance rather than the pipework. A cooktop burner that gets knocked on without lighting fills a kitchen surprisingly quickly, and a pilot light blowing out on an older heater does the same thing more slowly. Beyond the appliances, the next most common sources are the flexible connection behind a stove, a fitting that has worked loose over the years, or a gas line that was disturbed during renovation work. Outside the house, a damaged service line in the ground can let gas travel, which is why a persistent smell near the meter or along a boundary is worth reporting too. The important thing is that none of these are for you to diagnose standing in a room full of gas.
1
A burner left on
A cooktop knob knocked on without igniting fills the room quietly.
2
A pilot light out
An older heater or water unit stops burning but gas keeps flowing.
3
A loose fitting
Connections work loose over years of heat cycling and movement.
4
A damaged hose
The flexible connection behind a stove perishes or gets crushed.
5
A damaged line
Digging, renovation work or ground movement damages a gas line.
Signs of a gas problem beyond the smell
Gas doesn’t always announce itself clearly. These are the other signals worth taking seriously, especially in winter when heaters are running.
A hissing sound
A faint hiss near an appliance or pipe means gas is escaping under pressure.
Soot marks
Black marks around an appliance mean it has been burning badly for some time.
A yellow flame
Burners should run blue. Yellow or orange means the gas isn’t burning properly.
Feeling unwell indoors
Headaches, nausea or drowsiness that improve outdoors need urgent attention.
Why the last one matters most
Carbon monoxide is produced when gas burns incompletely, and it has no smell, no colour and no taste. The only warning you get is how people feel. Headaches, nausea, dizziness or unusual tiredness that ease once everyone goes outside are the pattern to watch for, particularly if more than one person in the house feels the same way, or if the family pet seems unwell too. If that’s happening, get everyone out into fresh air and seek medical advice. Don’t use the appliance again until a licensed gas fitter has been through it.
What happens after the emergency call
The gas network makes the property safe. After that, repairs to the pipework and appliances inside your home are a licensed gas fitter’s job, and that’s where we come in.
Step 01
Confirm it’s safe
Nothing starts until the supply is isolated and the area has ventilated properly. We check what’s been turned off and what the emergency response found.
What we look for
- Appliance connections and hoses
- Fittings along the gas line
- Flame colour and combustion
Step 02
Find the source
Every appliance, connection and section of line gets tested to locate exactly where gas is escaping, rather than guessing from the smell.
Step 03
Repair and test
The faulty fitting, hose or appliance connection is repaired, then the whole installation is tested again before gas is turned back on.
- Leak located
- Repair completed
- Installation tested
Method matched to cause
Method matched to cause
A loose fitting, a perished hose and a faulty appliance are three different repairs. In NSW, gasfitting is a separate licence class from plumbing, so always confirm whoever attends holds a current gasfitting licence.
- Leak test
- Appliance check
- Connection repair
- Compliance certificate
What affects the repair cost?
It depends on where the leak is, how accessible the pipework is, and whether an appliance needs repairing or replacing. We confirm the price after testing, before any work starts.
| Situation | Likely method | What affects the job |
|---|---|---|
| A smell near one appliance | Test and repair the connection | Appliance type and access |
| A perished gas hose | Replace the hose | Appliance position and access |
| A loose fitting | Repair and retest | Where the fitting sits |
| A fault inside an appliance | Repair or replace | Age and parts availability |
What’s safe to do and what isn’t
There’s very little a homeowner should do with gas, and that’s not caution for its own sake. In NSW almost nothing gas-related can legally be done without a licence, and the few things on this list are about getting people out safely rather than fixing anything.
Safe to check
- Get everyone outside into fresh air
- Turn the gas off at the meter if it’s safe
- Open doors and windows on your way out
- Call 131 909 from outside the house
Time to call a plumber
- Use light switches, plugs or phones inside
- Light a match, candle or cigarette
- Try to find the leak yourself
- Keep using an appliance that smells
The bottom line
Gas is the one thing not to wait on
Almost every other plumbing problem gives you time to think. A gas smell doesn’t, and the response is the same whether it turns out to be a knocked cooktop knob or a damaged line. Everyone outside, no switches, no phones indoors, then call 131 909 from the footpath.
The other half of this is the one you can’t smell. If people in the house get headaches or feel unwell indoors and better outside, that’s worth acting on just as quickly, even with no gas smell at all.
Remember thisIf you can smell gas, you’ve already got all the information you need. Get out first and work out what caused it afterwards.
Gas Safety FAQs
What should I do first if I smell gas?
Get everyone outside without touching switches, plugs or your phone indoors. Turn the gas off at the meter if you can do it safely, then call 131 909 from outside.
Why does gas smell like rotten eggs?
Natural gas has no smell, so a strong odour is added on purpose. It’s a safety feature designed to make a leak obvious well before it becomes dangerous.
Who do I call, the gas company or a plumber?
The gas emergency line on 131 909 first, every time. Once the property is safe, a licensed gas fitter handles repairs to your pipework and appliances.
Is a small gas smell near the stove normal?
A brief smell as a burner lights is normal. A smell that lingers, keeps returning, or is there when nothing is running is not.
What is carbon monoxide and how would I know?
It’s produced when gas burns incompletely, and it has no smell or colour. The warning signs are headaches, nausea or drowsiness indoors that improve once you go outside.
Can I fix a gas problem myself?
No. Gasfitting is a separate licence class in NSW, and there’s almost nothing gas-related a homeowner can legally do. Unlicensed gas work also puts insurance cover at risk.
Property made safe? We’ll handle the repair
Water Workx Plumbing looks after homes across Kingsgrove and the surrounding suburbs, with 24/7 service when something can’t wait. If you can smell gas right now, call 131 909 first. Once the property is safe, call Peter and the team and we’ll test the installation, find the fault and give you a fixed price before any work starts.
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