The gas-smell rule
- Leave the building immediately with everyone and every pet.
- Do not flip switches, use a phone or open a garage door inside.
- From a safe distance outside, call 911 or PSE's emergency line at 1-888-225-5773.
- Stay out until the utility or fire crew says the building is clear.
Treat a rotten-egg smell as gas, even if you think it comes from the drain or the tank water. Sorting out the source is not a job for the person standing in the room.
What you can safely check from a distance
With no gas smell, a few looks cost nothing and help the plumber. Check whether other fixtures lack hot water, which separates a heater fault from a single clogged tap. Read the temperature dial on the control, and see whether it was bumped to low or vacation mode.
Look at the floor around the tank and the pipe that comes off the relief valve. Dampness at the base, rust streaks or a puddle in the pan tell us what we are dealing with. Take a picture before you call.
That is the end of the homeowner list. Do not remove the burner cover, relight a pilot, adjust a gas valve or touch the flue, because mistakes there can cause carbon monoxide or a gas leak.
Signs that mean call a licensed plumber
Pilot goes out again and again
A pilot that will not stay lit often points to a worn thermocouple or a draft problem. The repair and the relight are both for a licensed plumber.
Yellow, orange or lifting burner flame
A healthy flame is mostly blue. A lazy yellow or orange flame, or one that lifts off the burner, suggests poor combustion and needs a trained eye.
Soot, scorch marks or rust at the vent
Black marks around the draft hood or a rusty vent pipe mean exhaust is not leaving cleanly.
Rumbling or popping from the tank
Sediment on the tank bottom traps steam bubbles. It wastes gas and shortens tank life.
Water at the base of the tank
A leaking tank cannot be patched. Shut off the cold water supply to the heater if it is safe, and call.
Venting and carbon monoxide, without the jargon
A gas water heater burns fuel and has to push exhaust out of the house. If the vent is disconnected, blocked, rusted through or sloped wrong, exhaust can spill back into the room. That is called backdrafting, and it is one of the reasons a carbon monoxide alarm matters near any gas appliance.
Carbon monoxide has no smell. If an alarm sounds, or if several people have headaches and nausea that ease when they leave the house, get everyone outside and call 911.
A plumber inspecting a heater looks at draft, vent slope and joints as part of the visit. We do not suggest any do-it-yourself draft test.
Symptom guide
| Symptom | What it may mean | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| No hot water at all | Pilot out, failed thermocouple, or control fault | Check other fixtures, then call a plumber |
| Lukewarm water | Thermostat setting, sediment or a failing component | Check the dial, then call |
| Water takes long to heat | Sediment buildup or burner issue | Call a plumber |
| Rumbling noise | Sediment on the tank floor | Book a service visit |
| Rust-colored hot water | Tank corrosion | Call. Replacement may be near |
| Smell of gas | Possible gas leak | Leave, then 911 or PSE |
A gas smell overrides every other row.
Repair or replace?
Age and tank condition decide it. A heater with a worn thermocouple or a bad gas control valve is often worth fixing if the tank itself is sound. A tank that leaks from the shell is finished, because there is no repair for a corroded steel shell.
If the cost of the repair is close to what a new unit would cost, replacement usually wins. Our water heater repair visits start with a diagnosis, and we describe both routes before you decide.
When replacement is the answer, water heater replacement includes new connections, the relief valve discharge piping and a check of the venting.
Gas heaters in Lakewood: PSE, permits and the strap rule
Puget Sound Energy is the exclusive natural gas provider in Lakewood. PSE's guidance is to leave the building immediately and call PSE or 911 from a safe place, and to avoid anything that can spark. That order matters because the first minutes decide the outcome, not the plumber's arrival.
State plumbing code requires water heaters to be strapped against horizontal movement, with straps in the upper and lower thirds of the tank and the lower strap at least 4 inches above the controls. In an earthquake, an unstrapped tank can tip and tear its gas connector, so look at your straps now.
The city's older building FAQ also says a permit is required to install or replace a water heater. Confirm the current rule with the city permit center before a replacement.
Source type: gas utility guidance and state plumbing amendments.Who we send and where
Lakewood homes are our home base. We also dispatch licensed plumbers to University Place, Steilacoom, DuPont and Fircrest. For a gas heater call, tell us what the flame looked like, any soot you saw and whether a CO alarm has sounded.
Gas heater questions from Lakewood homeowners
We do not recommend it. A pilot that keeps going out is a symptom, and relighting it can hide a gas, draft or vent problem. Have a licensed plumber find the cause.
Get everyone outside and call 911. Do not reenter to silence the alarm or open windows first.
Sediment collects on the tank floor and traps water that boils into steam. A flush or service visit often quiets it, and it can also signal an old tank.
Leaks from the shell, rust in the hot water, frequent repairs and a heater at the end of its expected life all point to replacement.
Leave the building and call 911 or PSE's emergency line from outside. Call us after the utility says it is safe.