How (not) to deal with a gas leak

by Marlene Berlin

This is a long and complicated tale, but I’m going to start with one simple instruction: When you smell gas, call Washington Gas immediately.

I say this because it’s what I should have done closer to the beginning of this story, a little over a year ago when I got a new water heater.

The water heater is in my furnace room, and for months afterward, I was smelling a gas leak by the appliance – a faint odor. But it wasn’t until I returned from a vacation last September that I finally started to tackle the problem. The first call I made was to the plumbing company that installed the water heater.

They sent someone out the next morning. The plumber checked the water heater and furnace but could not find the leak. He used a spray bottle of liquid that would bubble when sprayed on leaky gas pipe connections. His next theory was that gas was traveling down from the crawl space into the furnace room (more on that to come), and he proceeded to cut five holes in the ceiling in the room next door. Still, he found no leaks.

He also charged me $1,155: 6.25 hours of his time plus $80 for the service call, and $75 for materials.

I hoped that he had somehow solved the problem, but I went down a few days later and smelled the gas again. In the meantime, I talked to two friends. One told me I should have called the gas company. Another asked me whether a carbon monoxide detector would be able to catch the leak.

I called the Washington Gas emergency line (844-927-4427) late in the day. They told me that someone would be out in the morning. Indeed, along came Kwame with his gas leak detector. And he informed me the plumber had given me the wrong information. Natural gas is lighter than air, he said, and would rise, not fall. Still, he checked the pipes in the ceiling openings. He did not find anything. He also checked the furnace. Again, nothing. Then he went to the water heater. It took a while, but he found the source of the smell: under the meter where you can adjust temperature. He tried, but could not stop the leak. So, he told me to bring the plumber back in.

Before Kwame left, he turned off the gas. And I asked him about a carbon monoxide detector. Would it work with natural gas? He shook his head no.

I felt relieved that I finally knew the location of the leak, and called the plumbing company immediately. The next morning, they sent the plumber who had installed the water heater months before.

He arrived without a gas detector, and he would not have been able to find the problem without the gas company’s sleuthing and a photo I took of he leak location. He had to go out to Rockville to get replacement parts, and spent most of the day dealing with the repair. It was not clear how this charge would be handled by the company, but he left without leaving a bill.

After a few days, I was not smelling anything, but I called the gas company again. I wanted to make sure the leak had been fixed. The tech checked all around the water heater. No gas. Now, I breathed a big sigh of relief.

But something else still needed to be fixed: the plumbing company’s initial response to the gas leak. I contacted the owner, and after an in-person meeting at my home, this is what we agreed upon: I would pay for the initial visit to find the leak. The company would eat the cost of the second visit, and would pay half the cost of fixing the ceiling, And, the owner agreed to institute new procedures for handling gas leaks. True to their word, they will be advising customers who smell gas to call the gas company.

Get free carbon monoxide and smoke detectors from DC Fire & EMS

It’s something else I learned during this saga. On the advice of another friend, I contacted the fire department about getting a carbon monoxide detector. I ended up speaking to the media relations contact, who told me about the free smoke alarms program, and said I should replace my smoke alarms if they were ten or more years old. I filled out this form, and for good measure, called this number and left a message: 202-727-1614.

The next morning, Inspector Donavan Boozer called me from his car, which was parked outside my house. They were out of carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, but he brought in some smoke alarms. He checked all my alarms, which are hard-wired into my electrical system. He told me they were all fine, and that because they are hard-wired, I don’t have to worry about battery life. He also said I would be contacted when more CO detectors were available.