Dumb Ass and the Case of the Mystery Smell

I believe the mystery has been solved.  At least, I’m pretty sure. I feel fairly silly and damn lucky I didn’t blow my house up.

While in the kitchen the other night, I was getting something out of the freezer and as I shut the door, I caught a whiff of The Smell again.  This totally sent me into “Where in the hell is it coming from???” mode and I set off like a bloodhound in my kitchen, vehemently sniffing anything and everything. I must have looked like a total nutjob.

Finally, with my nose practically shoved into the burner, I discovered the culprit.  It was the gas on the stove!  The stove was turned ever-so-slightly left (even though I could have sworn I checked that like, 30 times) toward the “low” setting.  It wasn’t even on the low setting, really.  It was about a 1/4 inch off the “off” mark, no where near an actual setting.  Yet, I had to bear in mind that the #2 setting on my stove sometimes seems like “high boil” because it’s a new stove and really efficient.  It seemed reasonable that the stove was leaking a very small amount of gas that was being diluted by the many fans I have running. It makes perfect sense now that the longer I was away, the stronger the scent would be.  It doesn’t quite explain why it happened when I left the windows open, but I’m not going to argue with it.  Since I’ve turned the knob a quarter inch back to the “off” position, I’ve not smelled it.  That had to be it.

red face  What a maroon.

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9 thoughts on “Dumb Ass and the Case of the Mystery Smell

  1. Good thing you found it – gas leaks are no good!  Wonder why you messed it being on?  I do that sort of thing too.  grin

  2. @GFI: fortunately not that big of a deal. it was SO minor of a leak. I couldn’t smell it until I stuck my face right down an inch from the holes.  So don’t worry, I’m not going to blow you out of your apartment any time soon. hee!

    @Cheri: yes, totally!  I think I must have bumped it the knob and not realized it.

  3. dude, that’s scary but totally get it. we were smelling gas on and off for 3 years. until we did our remodelling and the man’s cousin (who’s a contractor) said “put some soap on it, if it bubbles, you have a leak.”

    and leak we did. so we were slowing killing ourselves for 3 years. lovely.

    isn’t being an adult grand?

  4. I am glad that you found the gas leak; those can be scary. I have a very sensitive sniffer, but the wife is all like “I can’t smell anything,” when I notice an odd odour.

  5. There should be a light or something beside the knob that states whether any gas, of any amount, is escaping.  Like an “on” light.  I blame the stove.