Gas smell in house: leave first, repairs $120 to $760 (2026)

National figures. The utility handles the emergency and its side of the meter; the repair on your side is yours.

Do this now: gas smell in the house

Every utility and regulator gives the same order, and it starts with your feet, not your phone.

1. Get everyone out, on foot. The California PUC says leave the area on foot first; Peoples Gas says do not try to find or stop the leak.
2. Touch nothing electrical on the way. No light switches, no garage door opener, no doorbell, no phone inside, no matches (Kansas Corporation Commission; City of Mesa). A spark is the ignition source.
3. Do not start a vehicle in or near the garage (Kansas Corporation Commission).
4. From outside, call 911 or the gas utility's emergency number. Peoples Gas says 911 first, then the utility. Propane: the propane retailer, 911 or the fire department (PERC).
5. Stay out until a gas company employee says it is safe (Kansas Corporation Commission).
6. Afterward, if the leak is on your side of the meter, call the plumber line. Atmos Energy says the customer owns the piping from the meter to the house and a licensed plumber can locate, inspect and repair it.

Is it an emergency? Rotten egg, burning or musty: which smell means leave

A rotten egg smell with no obvious source is a gas emergency every time, because federal rule 49 CFR 192.625 requires pipeline gas to be odorized so it is detectable at one-fifth of the explosive limit; the odor is there so you leave early.

• Leave and call 911: rotten egg or sulfur smell near a stove, furnace, water heater, dryer or meter; a hissing sound; the smell plus dizziness or headache. Also a CO alarm: the CPSC says get outside and call 911 without searching for the source.
• Leave and call the fire department: a strong rotten egg smell with no gas appliance nearby. The Virginia Department of Health gives that instruction for sewer gas, which carries hydrogen sulfide.
• Electrical burning smell: ESFI lists a burning smell, warm outlets and discolored switches as fire warning signs. Get out and call 911 if you see smoke; otherwise shut the breaker to that circuit if the panel is in reach and call an electrician. See emergency electrician.
• Not an emergency, book a visit: rotten egg smell only from the hot tap (water heater), a musty smell (mold or a leak), or a faint drain smell that goes away when you run water in an unused sink (dry trap).

Rotten egg smell in house: gas leak, sewer gas or the water heater?

Three things in a house smell like rotten eggs, and the safe rule is to treat it as gas until the utility says otherwise; the plumber's leak repair that follows costs $120 to $760 indoors (HomeAdvisor).

Kansas Corporation Commission, City of Mesa, Peoples Gas, Virginia Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Health (2024), Rheem.

The Minnesota Department of Health's test: after being away a few hours, smell the hot and cold taps separately. No smell from the cold tap means the water heater; a smell that fades after running a few minutes means bacteria in the well or plumbing. Never run that test if the smell is in the air of the house rather than the water.

Gas smell in house but no leak found: what the utility checks and what you pay

The utility handles its side of the meter; if the leak is on your side, a plumber's repair runs $120 to $250 at a junction behind a stove or $270 to $760 inside walls or crawl spaces in HomeAdvisor's 2026 figures.

• Who owns what: the utility owns the line to the meter; Atmos Energy says the customer is responsible for the piping from the meter to the house and inside it.
• What the plumber does: finds the leak, replaces the fitting or run, then pressure-tests the system ($75 to $150, HomeGuide) and pulls a permit ($100 to $300). HomeGuide says nearly all gas line work requires one.
• Before the gas comes back on: many cities require an inspector to witness the test; see gas line repair for the Dallas example and per-foot prices.
• Appliance leaks: a pilot that went out or a loose connector behind a stove or dryer is the common small leak; HomeGuide's emergency plumber guide prices a single-appliance gas leak at $350 to $2,000 after hours.
• Lost or weak sense of smell? The City of Mesa suggests a methane detector.

Burning smell in house: electrical, furnace or appliance

A burning smell has 3 usual sources, and the electrical one is the emergency: ESFI lists a burning smell, warm outlets and discolored switches among the signs to call an electrician immediately, and Angi prices an outlet repair for burn marks or smell at $120 to $400.

• Electrical (plastic, fishy, acrid): get out if there is smoke and call 911. Otherwise shut off the circuit at the breaker if you can reach the panel without opening its cover, unplug what is on it, and call the electrician line. Angi lists a sparking outlet repair at $100 to $350.
• Furnace (dusty, first cold day): Carrier says a dirty flame sensor or clogged filter can shut burners down; soot around a furnace means turn it off and call a professional. Any gas smell at the furnace: leave first. See furnace repair.
• Appliance or motor (hot, rubbery): a dryer, a dishwasher motor, a bathroom fan. Switch it off at the plug or breaker and have it looked at.
• Carbon monoxide has no smell. The EPA lists leaking furnaces, back-drafting water heaters and cars in attached garages as sources; the CPSC says a CO alarm means get outside and call 911. See carbon monoxide alarm going off.

Sewer gas smell: dry traps and cracked lines

Sewer gas is a mix that includes hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane, the Virginia Department of Health says, and the fix for the common cause, a dry trap, is to pour water into drains that have not been used, which refills the trap; the department lists 3 symptoms: dizziness, nausea and headache.

• Dry traps: a floor drain, guest shower or basement sink that sits unused lets the water in its trap evaporate. Run water in it monthly.
• Cracked waste line or vent: the health department says cracks in the waste line beneath or beside the home can let sewer gas in; that is a plumber's job. See sewer line repair.
• Symptoms: dizziness, nausea and headache; a strong odor means go outside and call the fire department.
• After a backup: the smell lingers in wet material; see sewage cleanup.

Questions to ask the plumber after a gas leak

• Will you pressure-test the whole system and is the test in the price? ($75 to $150, HomeGuide.)
• Who pulls the permit and schedules the inspector?
• Is the leaking section replaced or patched? Fixr's guide says a leaking line should be replaced.
• Who calls the utility to restore service?
• License number and proof of insurance. The plumbing license table shows who licenses plumbers in six states.

The leak itself, signs outside and the utility's role: gas leak. Prices per foot and who fixes what: gas line repair. Hub: plumbing. Calls go to an independent plumbing company that serves your area; how calls work.