Gas Appliance Safety

Natural gas appliances are used for heating our homes, heating our water, cooking our food, drying our clothes and providing a comfortable ambiance. Follow these appliance safety guidelines to help ensure the safety of you, your home and your appliances.

Make sure appliances have been approved by recognized testing centers to ensure national safety standards have been met.
Use only qualified gas contractors to install and maintain natural gas appliances.
Follow all manufacturer’s instructions on the appliance labels and in operating manuals.
Make sure to have an active, approved fire extinguisher around the house.
Make sure the flame burns blue, not yellow-orange.
Never use an improperly operating appliance.
Never use an appliance for anything other than its intended purpose.
Never store or use flammable products around, in the same room or near any gas or heat-producing appliances or equipment.
Keep combustibles such as paper, clothing, and curtains away from open flames.

Home Heating

Make sure gas fireplace logs are vented properly and free of debris or insects.
Follow safe venting practices when using gas fireplace logs.
Do not use gas fireplace logs for cooking or grilling.
Clean or replace furnace filters every month during heating and cooling seasons.
Have the gas heating appliances inspected annually by a certified professional.

Water Heating

If the water heater is installed in a garage, make sure the pilot light is a minimum of 18 inches above the floor or per manufacturer’s installation instructions and local building codes.
Do not store combustibles of any kind near or in the same room as the water heater.
Monitor the temperature setting to maintain safe usage and help prevent scalding.

Cooking

When lighting a burner or oven with no pilot light, always strike the match first, place it at the burner and turn the range knob.
If a burner flame goes out, turn off the range knob, wait for the gas to dissipate and then relight the burner.
Keep burners and range top surfaces clean and free of debris.
Periodically clean burners and ports to ensure the free flow of gas.
Do not use foil to cover holes in the broiler pan.
Make sure flames do not rise up around the outside of pans.
Avoid over boil as this could extinguish the burner flame and keep the gas flowing.
Never use the range or oven as a source to heat the house.
Do not use gas grills inside the house as these are designed to vent in the open air.
Do not light gas grills with the top closed, always keep the lid open when lighting.
Always check the connection between the propane tank or gas line for leaks.
Make sure the grill is placed at least 10 feet away from other objects including the house, shrubs or bushes.

Laundry

Make sure gas dryer vent pipe is free from obstructions and vented properly to the outdoors.
Remove any lint or dust from lint traps and vacuum lint trap area for loose lint.
Keep the exhaust vent opening and adjacent surrounding areas free from lint accumulations.
Periodically check exhaust duct to make sure there are no restrictions.