The pipes in your home don't necessarily distribute water. Some household pipes carry natural gas from the city to gas-powered heating systems and kitchen appliances. These gas lines can develop problems that impair their effectiveness, interfere with your comfort, or pose genuine danger to everyone in your home.

Once you understand how gas lines work and what kinds of problems can affect their operation, you'll find it easier to spot a gas line issue that might require immediate service from an experienced technician. Check out this high-level introduction to residential gas line problems and their solutions.

1. How Gas Lines Serve Your Home

America's natural gas delivery system includes approximately 272,000 miles of pipelines extending from central gathering systems. These pipelines pass through various stations to city utility centers. Distribution mains then route the gas to individual residential and commercial service lines.

The city maintains all of the pipeline leading up to your outdoor gas meter, while individual users must maintain the lines running from the meter into (and throughout) the building. If a problem develops in the line leading upstream (either within the meter or in the pipeline extending away from the house), notify the city.

2. How Gas Lines Develop Issues

Household natural gas lines can develop many of the same kinds of problems as water lines. Most commonly, a gas line may spring a leak. These leaks usually occur at the points where two lengths of pipe fit together. Connectors such as shutoff valves, risers, tees, and regulators can weaken or loosen, allowing gas to escape.

Gas shouldn't leak from a connector as long as the thread seal tape covering the connector prevents its escape. Unfortunately, this tape may not work correctly if oils or dryness reduce its sealing power.

Sometimes the pipe itself can develop a problem. This issue may occur when black iron piping exposed to moisture corrodes and leaks. Debris blocking the pipe or one of its valves may also block the gas from reaching its end points adequately, causing gas-powered appliances to function poorly or not at all.

3. How to Recognize a Gas Line Problem

You can often find a gas leak by following your nose. Gas companies add a substance to their product that gives off a rotten-egg odor, making leaks more easily detectable. This measure can save lives by preventing gas accumulation from having toxic effects on residents or facilitating an explosion.

Contact the fire department or the gas utility company immediately, and stay out of your home until they can check out the problem. If the leak involves the upstream gas line, they will repair it. If the leak has apparently developed downstream, you'll need to seek plumbing repair services.

A tiny gas leak may affect nearby household plants even before you can smell it. If plants positioned near a gas line appear sickly or decomposed, suspect a possible gas leak in that area.

Changes in your household operations can also signal an unexplained loss of natural gas. Your kitchen stove, heater, or other gas-powered devices seem to perform inefficiently or suffer frequent failures. You may hear strange noises or see gas bubbles in your water. Your monthly gas bill may also go up for no obvious reason.

4. How Professional Plumbing Services Can Help

If you have a leak in a downstream gas line, look for the nearest shutoff valve, close it immediately, and then contact our plumbing service technicians for an evaluation. Your system might need fresh thread seal tape, an updated valve, a tightened connector, a new length of pipe, or removal of troublesome debris.

Preventative maintenance inspections at recommended intervals can do as much good for your natural gas system as they do for your plumbing system. This routine allows the technicians to discover and address a weak connector, corrosion, or other issues before they can turn into a serious problem.

Whether you've detected a definite gas line problem or you just want to schedule an inspection to ensure smooth operation, Complete Plumbing can help. Contact usto request a service call.