What propane smells like and what to do

Written by Texas Star Propane

What propane smells like is rotten eggs, or a skunk. If you smell that, stop and call us right now. Get everyone out of the house first, do not touch a light switch or anything electrical, and phone us from outside on (281) 259-2162. Do not try to find the leak yourself.

Propane has no smell of its own. An odorant is added so you can tell when gas is escaping, and what it smells like is rotten eggs, or a skunk. If you catch that smell, the most common cause is a pilot light that has gone out, but you treat every one of them as a real leak until somebody qualified says it is not.

What does propane actually smell like?

Rotten eggs is the description most people land on. Some say skunk, some say a dead animal under the porch. It is deliberately unpleasant, because the whole point of adding it is that you cannot ignore it.

Why you might smell it only faintly

A very small escape smells faint, and a faint smell is still a leak. Cold air also holds the odor lower to the ground, so you may notice it near the floor or outside by the tank before you notice it standing up in a room.

A pilot light has gone out

This is the most common cause by a wide margin. A pilot blows out, gas keeps feeding to it for a moment, and you get a short smell near the appliance.

How to check it: look at the appliance you smelled it near, and see whether the pilot is lit. If it is out and the smell has cleared, that is likely your answer. If the smell is still there, leave and call us. Relighting a pilot is a homeowner job on most appliances, and if you are not completely sure, it is ours.

A connection has worked loose

Fittings at the tank, the regulator or an appliance can loosen over time, and a loose one weeps a small amount of gas steadily.

How to check it: you do not, beyond noticing where the smell is strongest. Do not spray anything, do not tighten anything, and do not use a flame to test. This is a service call, every time.

The tank is nearly empty

The odorant can settle over time, and when a tank runs very low you can get a stronger than usual smell as the last of it moves through the line.

How to check it: lift the dome and read the gauge. If it is sitting very low, that may be what you are smelling, and you need a delivery either way. The gauge reads percent and not gallons, which we cover in our guide to reading a propane tank gauge.

A real leak in the line or regulator

Least common, most serious. A line can be damaged by digging, by corrosion, or by something heavy driven over a buried run. A regulator can fail.

How to check it: you leave. Get everyone out, leave the door open behind you if you can do it without delay, and call us from outside. If the smell is strong, call the fire department first and us second.

When to call us

Call us if the smell does not clear within a minute or two, if you cannot tell where it is coming from, if it is coming from the tank or the regulator rather than an appliance, or if you are simply not sure. We would far rather drive out to a false alarm than have you talk yourself out of a real one.

Carbon monoxide is a separate hazard and it has no smell at all, which is why the alarm is the only warning you get. The US Environmental Protection Agency sets out how it builds up indoors and what exposure does.

After any runout, a technician has to run a leak check on the system by law before gas goes back through it. That is covered in what to do if you run out of propane, and the whole delivery picture is in our guide to how propane delivery works.

Frequently asked questions

Is it normal to smell propane near the tank?

A faint smell right at the tank immediately after a delivery can be normal and should clear within a few minutes. A smell that persists, or one you notice at any other time, is not normal and is worth a phone call.

Can I use my phone inside if I smell gas?

Get outside first, then call. Anything electrical can make a spark, and that includes a phone, a light switch and a garage door opener.

Will you charge me if it turns out to be nothing?

Ask us at the counter what a service call runs, and we will tell you straight. What we will not do is talk you out of calling.

What if my carbon monoxide alarm goes off but I smell nothing?

Treat it as real and get out. Carbon monoxide has no smell at all, so the alarm is the only warning you get, and it is a different problem from a gas leak.