New Occupation

Today I qualified myself for the position of airport bloodhound, sniffing out criminals and their illegal cargo.

Okay....not quite...

....but I did smell a gas leak in our basement while doing laundry! I had gotten a whiff of it here and there, but for some reason it kept going to the back of my mind until today. After I smelled it this afternoon, more strongly it seemed, I decided to check it out on the Internet. I got a little frightened when I read I should evacuate immediately, not turn anything on or off, and call from a neighbor's home. I figured since we hadn't blown up yet we probably wouldn't, but I did decide to turn off the lights and the dryer.

I prioritized by first trying to straighten up the monstrosity that is our basement without much effect. I was also afraid he might have to walk through the entire house, so I cleaned up all the toys in the living room. I then called in the "emergency" knowing I had just spent 10-15 min. tidying up. In the 10 min. or so I had until he responded, I went back into the basement, attempting to clear a walkable path around the furnace and water heater and to expose more of the cement floor. I made stacks higher than they already were, threw things into any box I could find, and attempted to reorganize our games that somehow disorganized themselves. Yes, our basement is terrible.

As we walked down the basement steps, I warned him about the condition of our basement, stating something like, "...the worst in America." He replied with, "Oh no, I'm sure it's not"something, something, something, and I told him to wait until he saw it before he said that. Funny thing, after he did see it he didn't say it wasn't that bad!

He traced the gas line from the meter to the furnace and found that the valve near the furnace had a small leak. I was relieved to know I wasn't smelling things. He replaced it quickly and reassured me that everything was fine and if it had been a serious leak we would have smelled it in the house. At the same time, I read (and he told me this too) that gas is lighter than air and rises - meaning the gas was most certainly ending up in our house, but too disbursed to smell. I wonder if that's why I've been having headaches lately?

Thanks to a plan I got "tricked" into last winter and that I forgot to get us out of, we shouldn't have to pay for the visit. Supposedly the $4/month program pays for a worker to come out and check for leaks, though I don't know if the valve will be covered or not. He didn't say anything to me so we'll see what happens on our next gas bill. I suppose now is a good time to cancel it since we know we don't have any leaks anywhere!