We love a good DIY project. Gas isn’t one of them. Here are five signs it’s time to put the wrench down and call a licensed gas fitter:
1. You smell rotten eggs — even faintly. That smell is added to gas specifically so you’ll notice it. Faint and occasional still means a leak somewhere. Get it found.
2. Your burner flames are yellow or orange. Healthy gas flames burn blue. Yellow means incomplete combustion — wasted gas at best, carbon monoxide at worst.
3. Soot marks around the appliance. Black staining on or above a stove, dryer, or water heater is combustion residue showing up where it shouldn’t be.
4. The connector behind your stove is older than your kids. Coated brass connectors from decades past are a documented failure hazard. If you don’t know how old yours is, that’s the answer.
5. A pilot light that won’t stay lit. Usually a thermocouple — a cheap part, but one that lives inches from a gas valve. Worth doing right.
Any of these sound familiar? Our gas safety inspection covers all of it in about an hour, with a written report at the end.