A gas odor in a Silver Spring home means leaving the building right away, then calling 911 and Washington Gas at 844-WASHGAS (927-4427), selecting option 1, once you're outside. For fixing piping past the meter or adding a new gas line, call the number on this page to be connected with a local plumber in Silver Spring.
Silver Spring sits on the District line, about six miles from downtown Washington, and much of its housing predates the Beltway era: the median home here was built in 1964. Gas piping in houses that old has often been cut into, extended and patched over several decades, and older appliance connectors are common.
What to do now
- Smell gas? Get out. Leave doors as they are, skip light switches and don't start a car in an attached garage.
- Call from outside. Dial 911 and the Washington Gas leak line from the sidewalk or a neighbor's porch.
- Wait for the all-clear. The utility or fire crew decides when it's safe to go back in. Don't relight anything yourself.
- Book the repair. Once the source is isolated, a plumber repairs the house-side piping and tests it under a WSSC Water permit.
- Planning an addition? Write down the appliance and its input rating so the line can be sized before work starts.
Symptoms and what usually causes them
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Faint odor near the furnace or water heater in the basement | Loose union, worn valve or an aging connector |
| Orange, lazy burner flames on the range | Burner or air mixture problem, sometimes low supply pressure |
| New appliance runs weakly when the furnace fires | Branch or trunk too small for the combined load |
| Rust on exposed pipe near a basement floor drain or exterior wall | Corrosion on old steel from years of damp |
| Hissing at the meter or riser outside | Leak on the utility side; call Washington Gas |
What affects the cost
- Access in finished basements and plaster walls typical of older Silver Spring houses
- Whether old steel runs are repaired in place or a section is replaced
- Upsizing the line when adding a range, dryer or tankless heater
- The WSSC Water permit and inspection; inspectors for central and southern Montgomery County work out of WSSC's Lyttonsville depot
- Restoring finishes after the line is run
The Silver Spring mailing area reaches well beyond the community itself, into Wheaton, Four Corners and nearby places, but the permit rule is the same across it: WSSC handles plumbing and gasfitting, and gas work has to be done by a WSSC-registered plumber or gasfitter.
Gas Line Services questions in Silver Spring
I smell gas inside. What should I do first?
What do plumbers tend to find in the gas piping of older homes?
Should the flexible connector behind the range or dryer be replaced?
Who issues the permit for gas piping work here?
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