The smell of gasoline in your home can be a frightening experience.
Is your family in danger?
Did someone spill the gas container in the garage?
Knowing the possible reasons behind the smell of gas can help you narrow down the cause of it.
House Smells Like Gasoline (Possible Causes)
Finding its cause can save your family’s life or ease your worries.
We’ll list several reasons you may smell gasoline in your home.
1. You Or Someone In Your Family Brought Gas Into Your Home
Your house may smell like gas because you brought the vapor into your home yourself.
Your children or pets may bring it into the home.
Even a spill outside can cause your home to smell like gasoline.
Outside exposure could be a reason that you are still smelling gasoline.
2. You Visited A Gas Station
There’s a good chance that you’re making your home smell like gasoline if you visited a gas station.
It’s inevitable that you’re going to have a few gas drips when you’re filling up your car.
The drips may miss your hands, but you may still step in it.
Now that it’s on your shoes, you’re spreading it all through your house.
The smell goes with it.
Gas vapor may also cling to your clothes as you fuel up your car.
The scent follows you into your home until you wash your clothes.
3. You Mowed The Lawn
If you mow your own lawn, then you’re going to smell like gas.
You’ll be handling the fuel on your own.
The liquid can get on your hands and shoes.
The vapor can spread on your skin and clothes.
As you mow the lawn, you’re subject to more gas contamination.
By the time you’re ready to go inside the home, you’re filling it with the smell of gas.
4. Gas Spill On Driveway Or In The Garage
If you were fueling something up in the garage or on the driveway, then there’s always a chance of spilling the gas.
If a gas spill happens, then the scent can linger for some time.
In an enclosed area like a garage, the scent can even linger for days without ventilation.
Even though the spill occurred outside, the smell of gas can still find its way inside your home.
The AC unit is to blame.
It circulates air from inside and outside of your home.
It can draw the gas smell from outside and into your home.
Those with central AC will find the smell circulates throughout the entire home.
Even leaving a window open can cause the smell of gas to enter your home.
5. Pets Or Children Got Into Gas
It’s a scary situation, but pets and children could get into gas cans.
Children may run through the garage and topple the cans over.
They may find playing in the gas is fun.
When they go inside, they do so covered in gas.
Your floors may become covered in it.
Pets may also get into it.
They may run into it or cause something to fall on the canister that makes the gas spill.
Then they walk through it and track it throughout your home.
Without knowing what gas is, both pets and children can be the reason behind the smell of gas in your home.
6. Malfunctioning AppliancesÂ
Certain appliances may run on natural gas in your home.
Knowing which ones they are can help you determine the source of the gas smell.
Here are some popular appliances that are sometimes fueled by gas.
7. Gas Stoves
Not everyone realizes that their stove uses gas.
Through the gas line, the stove receives gas which ignites when it’s turned on.
You may notice a gas smell around your stove if you leave it on.
Forgetting to turn the stove off is a common occurrence.
It’s also a serious problem.
Leaving the stove on pushes gas through the pipes and into the stove.
When there’s no more room, the gas may start leaking into your home instead.
There’s also always a possibility that a pipe fitting may no longer be functioning.
It may have worn out through use.
This can also cause some gas to release through the home.
Even if you don’t smell gas near your stove, the stove may still be to blame.
Gas travels.
Checking your stove should be one of the first steps you take to determine the cause of the smell.
8. A Fireplace
Certain fireplaces also use gas to function.
A gas fireplace uses sealed combustion to heat an enclosed area.
Then it’s lit and a fire starts.
Vents and pipes are responsible for drawing the warm air to the ignitable area.
A problem with the vents, pipes, or heating system can cause the smell of gas in the home.
Even leaving the fireplace on without igniting it can be responsible for the scent of gas.
Without ignition, gas continues to accumulate in the enclosed area.
This can become a dangerous situation.
9. Gas Leaks
One of the scariest reasons you may smell gas is a gas leak.
If any of your appliances receives gas, then you have gas lines in your yard.
They run from your house to the street.
Anything can break a gas line.
A tree root can grow into the line and break it.
Heavy machinery may crush it.
Even simple wear and tear can cause a leak.
The problem with gas leaks is that they’re not always noticeable.
If the leak is outside, then you may only notice the smell when you open a window or walk in that area.
If you smell gasoline in your home, then it may be due to a broken gas line.
10. Water Heaters
Some water heaters run on gas to heat the water.
It uses the gas to light a fire which heats the water within the tank.
Unfortunately, water heaters can have a lot of problems.
You may experience leaks from the tank or the plumbing.
Gas lines can also break, making the gas leak in the area around the water heater.
Noticing a lack of hot water can tell you that something is wrong with the gas or water heater itself.
11. Furnaces
One final major appliance that uses gas is the furnace.
Like your stove, a furnace relies on gas to ignite itself and heat the home.
The furnace may break down or fall into disrepair.
As a result, gas releases into the home.
You smell it everywhere.
A gas leak caused by your furnace can be a serious and dangerous problem.
If you smell gas around it that doesn’t go away, then you need to call an expert to fix it.
Smelling a little bit of gas around the furnace when it first kicks on is normal.
Ways To Get Gasoline Smell Out Of Home
The smell of gas can be nauseating for some people. It’s also toxic. Here are a few methods you can use to remove the odor from your house.
1. Cover the Gas in Cat Litter
If there’s spilled gas in the garage, then the only way to remove the odor is to get rid of the gas.
One inexpensive method to do this is to cover the spill with cat litter.
This is an effective method because cat litter uses clay granules.
The granules are responsible for soaking up liquids that stick to your cat and the litter box.
They can also soak up gasoline.
Once the clay absorbs the gas, the odor goes with it.
To use cat litter, you need to spread a thick layer of litter over the gas spill.
Then leave the litter to soak it up for a few hours.
Once the granules have done their magic, you can use a broom and sweep them into a dustpan.
Deposit the granules in a trash bag and deposit them according to safety regulations.
Gas-soaked cat litter is still dangerous.
You may need to do a few layers of cat litter for large gas spills.
2. Wash Clothes In Washing Machine With Detergent
If you visited the gas station, then your clothes may have gasoline drips on them.
Getting the gas fumes out of them is easy.
You need to remove the clothes as soon as you arrive home.
However, you can’t toss them into the washer first.
Gas is highly flammable and there’s always a risk of combustion with a washer.
First, let them air-dry outside.
You can hang them on a line and let the air remove the gas particles for you.
If the stench is still there, then you can put vinegar in a spray bottle and spray them.
Once the odor is less prevalent, you can put them in the washer without any other clothes present.
Toss them into the washer and add your usual laundry detergent.
The washing machine will do the rest of the work.
When the load is over, your clothes will come out smelling fresh and new.
The important thing is to remove your clothes as fast as possible.
Sitting on the furniture or being around others can allow the fumes to spread.
3. Take A Shower Immediately
Getting gas on your skin can be a problem.
It can cause skin irritation and even burns. It also smells terrible.
Once you arrive home, get in the shower.
Your usual soap may not be strong enough to remove the fumes.
Don’t use it alone.
Instead, coat your body in shampoo or conditioner.
It’s stronger than soap and can kill gas fumes.
This method is also helpful for gas fumes in your hair.
In the case of your hair, add more shampoo or conditioner to your scalp than normal.
Scrub into your scalp vigorously and let the water rinse through your hair.
It will remove any gas particles sticking to it in the process.
4. Use Natural Cleaners For Furniture
If you did sit down on the furniture while smelling like gas, then your furniture may smell like it, too.
The same goes for the interior of your car.
Natural cleaners can remove the stench of gas and are safe on your furniture.
You’ll need to mix together baking soda, water, and vinegar.
Baking soda will help remove any remaining gas particles from the surface.
Vinegar will kill the odor.
Water helps everything flow.
Once the solution is ready, dip a rag into it.
Then rub it over the furniture gently.
Try to scrub into the area where the point of contact occurred.
The powerful solution will clean your furniture and kill the smell of gas.
5. Install An Air Purifier
Gas fumes aren’t always brought into the home through clothes, garage spills, and on your skin.
Sometimes they waft through the air from the nearby gas station.
You can remove the stench of gas by installing an air purifier.
Not every air purifier can remove odors, however.
When purchasing an air purifier, look for one that uses an activated carbon filter.
This type of filter can remove odor from the air.
It traps the particles that are responsible for causing the smell.
It doesn’t hurt to choose an air purifier that also includes a filter for volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
Volatile organic compounds originate from the ground, but they can also cause odors.
Air purifiers can ensure that the air circulating within your home is safe and smells great.
6. Mouthwash Small Stains
If there are a few stains on your pants or shoes, then you can mouthwash to remove them.
Mouthwash is an effective deodorizer.
It kills bacteria and other particulates.
Dab mouthwash against the gas stain to let it remove the scent of gasoline.
The smell of the mouthwash will disappear after a few minutes, too.
The Smell Might Not Be Gasoline
There are certain smells that are similar to gas but not exactly.
It’s easy to mistake their smell with gasoline.
Some of the following scents are often mistaken for gas.
1. Propane
Propane is like gasoline in that they share a similar chemical structure.
They’re also both used as a fuel source to heat homes.
Both of these substances are also flammable.
Because its chemical structure is like that of gas, it also has a similar odor.
You may mistake the smell of propane for gas.
2. Natural Gas
Like propane, natural gas also has a chemical structure close to gasoline.
Natural gas is mostly methane.
Gasoline is mostly made up of carbon compounds.
Natural gas smells like gasoline and is often mistaken for gas.
The gas used for appliances is natural gas.
When people smell it in their homes, they might believe that it’s gasoline.
It’s actually natural gas.
However, natural gas is still a danger.
It’s flammable and capable of exploding just like gas.
3. Sewage
Sewage contains sulfur.
Some people believe that sulfur smells a lot like gasoline.
They mistake the two.
You may think you have a gas problem on your hands when you actually have a sewer problem.
Because sewer fumes are toxic, it’s important that they’re handled fast.
Conclusion
There are several reasons you might smell gasoline in your home.
It’s often brought in on your skin and clothes, especially if you work in one of the professions that is always around gas.
Even the smell from a spill outside can make its way into your home through an open window or AC unit.
Finally, certain appliances use natural gas which is sometimes mistaken for gasoline.
The smell of sewer and propane are also often mistaken for the smell of gasoline.
Knowing where the smell of gas is coming from can help you keep your home and family safe.
It can also help you learn how to prevent the smell of gas from entering your home in the first place.
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