After our new dryer was installed, we asked the Gas Company to come out and perform a safety check. If you’re a new homeowner, it’s worth it for peace of mind, and may prevent future potential problems.
How to Arrange the Safety Check
Simply call your gas utility and ask for a “safety check” appointment. If you smell gas, tell them and they should be at your house within 15 minutes. If you don’t smell gas, they’ll schedule an appointment during regular business house.
What They’ll Check
When they come out for a safety check, they will check all gas appliances and gas lines. For example:
- Dryer
- Heater/Furnace
- Oven
- Stove
- Food Warmer
- Gas Fireplace Igniter
- Water Heater
The Gas Company inspector first checked the dryer. It didn’t have a leak, but he found that they’d used an unnecessary connector that would have eventually caused a problem. He removed the connector, resealed the gas line, and checked the dryer. He also confirmed what our home inspector had told us about the fireplace missing one of the gas pipes and advised us to get it fixed before using them. The pipe isn’t leaking gas, but we can’t turn it on without fixing that pipe.
Emergency Gas Galls
I once called the Gas Company when I smelled gas in my old apartment. I thought it was the heater, and he found a small leak there, but he also checked my other gas appliances and found that the stove was actually the culprit. It looked off, but was turned on so low that it was leaking gas.
My husband once called at his old apartment and found that the gas pilot in their oven had gone off, and was leaking gas. The Gas Company relit the pilot and checked the pipes to make sure there wasn’t a leak there.
Safety Check Fee
Our safety check was free, but even if it was a nominal fee, we would have done it. By checking our appliances now, we were able to prevent a future problem. For example, I’d forgotten about the gas pipe missing from the fireplace. We’ll also be using that dryer a lot. I’d rather prevent a problem than spend hundreds or thousands fixing it later.
Scheduling the safety check is easy. Just call your local gas utility and schedule the appointment. You will have to be home during the appointment window, but it’s a small inconvenience for the peace of mind.
