A gas leak is a serious business. It can be super dangerous and cause catastrophic house or kitchen fires. Gas could escape from the stove, a pipeline, a cylinder, or other places. If you suspect this is happening, you can test for the leak before you go about cooking. Here is the full disclosure on how to tell and test for gas leaks with soapy water.
Summary
Soapy water is the most common and easy method used on the stove and other places to test for leaks and tell where they are by applying it around pipes and looking for visible bubbles. Visible bobbles indicate air is leaving the space.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the following:
- The effects of a gas leak
- The best detectors
As we tested the various gas leak detectors, the best one that we came up with is :
Y201 Propane and Natural Gas Leak Detector

What is the bubble test for a gas leak?
The bubble test involves coating the suspected area of leak with water pressure. It is commonly seen when you’re checking for punctured tires as well. There is a leak if you see bubbles when the area is dipped in water. The same happens in the case of a punctured tire and shows where exactly the puncture has occurred.
How to tell and test for gas leaks with soapy water
A soapy water test also creates a soap film around the suspected area of the leak. A mixture of water and soap is poured over the area. It includes pipes, hoses, valves, and other parts. Pressurize the system. If bubbles are visible, you know you’ve got a leak.
To make the solution, mix the dishwashing liquid with water. It foams better than laundry detergent. You can use a spray bottle or a bowl with a sponge. The idea is to generate a lot of foam to cover the suspected area. All in all, it’s an inexpensive method to spot problems!

Signs to look out for
There are a couple of tips to spot leaks before you even try the soapy water test.
1. The smell
The first thing to look out for is the smell. Use your nose to figure out what’s wrong even before you decide to use your hands. Sulfur is added to most gases to make leaks more detectable. And boy, does sulfur have a strong and bad smell! It smells like rotten eggs and is hard to miss. Check for the smell near the pipe, hose, and stove.
2. The sound
Although you’ll need quite a good ear for this, you can also hear the LPG or LNG escape. A hissing noise is audible if there’s enough silence to spot it.
3. The physical effects
You can also detect the discharge through the physical effects that start to take place on the people nearby. At a lower level, you can expect the following:
- headaches
- memory problems
- nausea
- fatigue
- and trouble breathing.
At a more severe stage, those exposed to the air for longer can experience memory loss, suffocation, fainting spells, and nausea. For all physical symptoms, you should contact your family doctor right away and call a professional to check for gas leaks.
4. The plants dying
Any plants dying near your kitchen on the window sill or an LPG pipeline could mean trouble. This cooking gas usually prohibits plants from taking in oxygen. That’s why a wilting plant is a big sign of some unwanted bleeding. It starts with yellow patches and can go on to become full-on plants dying.
5. The increased usage
If you suspect that you’re not even using the gas as much as the bills suggest, there could be a leak. For instance, if you’re not even cooking three meals a day and your bills are going over the roof, you know you have to check for signs of a slit in the pipe or valves.
6. The stove
The burner of the stove usually burns blue. Blue means safety and is the normal mode for usage. But if the flame turns yellow, you know there’s a problem with the burning. It usually indicates that LPG is escaping through the valves or pipes.
Can you use a carbon monoxide detector?
There are quite a few ways to detect leaks, and some suggest one is through a carbon monoxide detector. Is this true?
The simple answer is no. Carbon monoxide detectors can only detect carbon monoxide. While LNG burning does release carbon monoxide, leaks in the natural gas form will not be detected by the machine.
Best products to consider
If you think your home has devices and cylinders whose leakage could lead to serious health damage, you should opt for detectors. These survey the air in the home constantly and alert you if the level of a certain gas in your home has gone above the normal benchmark.
Here are some great ones.
A nighthawk detector
This detector is great for both carbon monoxide and LNG too. Any kind of explosive substance in the environment will be quickly detected, and the alarm will be sounded. The display will also show the words ‘Gas’. The alarm is loud and has three different options to be placed in your home.
It could be on the wall into an outlet, on the table with a power cord, or on the wall through a retractable power cord. With a 5-year limited warranty, you won’t have to worry about breakdowns too soon.
You should test your detectors from time to time by exposing them to natural gas.
Pros
- #1 bestseller on Amazon and 4.6 star rating
- 3 easy ways to plug in and install
- Detects CO as well as explosive gas
- Digital display that displays the reading of the gas volume
- Low battery indicator
- Also detects natural gas
Cons
- The sensor is sensitive to things like Candles, Vicks vaporizer and even leftover car gas in the garage. This won’t lead to beeping but may lead to a higher reading.
Multi-gas detector
This multi-tasking machine can detect several gases at once. It includes:
- LPG
- coal gas
- natural gas
- liquified natural gas
- and artificial gas.
The alarm system is quite effective with an alarm system of 85dB. The LED sign also flashes red when the gas exceeds recommended levels.
Both audio and visual sound help to determine house members about the leak.
It plugs right into the AC outlet and provides super-easy installation.
Pros
- Amazon’s choice
- Detects as many as LPG, Natural gas, methane, coal gas, artificial gas and more.
- Easy to install plug in design
- Sound alarm of 85dB as well as light alarm
Cons
- Sensitive to even air fresheners so you might have to be cautious around it
Portable Alarm
This little gas alarm looks like a pen but does much more. It can detect more than ten gases and has both an audio and visual alert to warn you against a possible leak. The best part is that it’s fully portable, and you can use it to sniff out the exact location where the gas might be escaping from. A LED bar graph indicates the high level of concentration followed by a 75dB beeping alarm.
It comes equipped with 2 triple-A batteries that can be installed and thus is ready for use instantly! It is easy to hold in pen form and promises detection in 0.5 seconds.
The gases it claims to recognize are:
- LPG
- methane
- sewer gas
- coal gas
- propane
- butane
- ethane
- LPG
- and LNG.
Specifications | Description |
Sensor | Gas Sensitive Semiconductor |
Detection range | 50-1000ppm |
Alarm type | Visual bar graph and Variable tone frequency buzzer |
Power source | Battery |
Dimensions | 6.5 in x 0.79 in x 0.79 in |
Type | Portable |
Highly-rated gas sniffer
This gas sniffer does more than your regular alarm because it’s movable. You can lead it around like a loyal dog who sniffs out the threat in the environment. The 12-inch sensor helps reach the most remote areas in factories, homes, or offices. It’s got 6 LED lights and an 85dB alarm to notify the nearby members about a possible leak. There’s even a lifetime warranty in case it ever breaks.
What symptoms will you experience if there’s a problem?
If you are not able to spot a leak in time, it may lead to damage to one’s health. It means having:
- breathing difficulties
- eye irritation
- dizziness
- nausea
- and headaches.
In extreme cases of prolonged exposure, oxygen reduction in the air may cause:
Losing consciousness also occurs due to the reduction of oxygen in the air.
Who should you call for professional help?
Sometimes due to poor airflow, your dryer can smell like gas. When this happens, it’s important to follow the following instructions.
Leave the area
Isolate the area where the dryer is. Exit the house or building and take others with you.
Call the local supply company.
The local gas company often conducts free inspections and safety checks to check for leaks. Once they give the all-clear, you can go back to your house.
Call a professional plumber.
If the supply company has decided that some parts are faulty, it removes them until further repair. A plumber should be called to look at the dryer and gas line. Until it is fixed, the meter will not be allowed to be re-installed.
The provider company will only reinitiate the supply once the safety checks are passed.
What smell should you be on the lookout for?
A gas leak usually shouldn’t smell like much. Especially liquified petroleum gas has no smell of its own. However, sulfur is added to LPG to make it more detectable when it escapes. Sulfur smells a lot like rotten eggs. So if you don’t have bad eggs but are smelling them in your kitchen – you know it’s the LPG talking.
You can test for LPG leaks using a soapy water test. Simply make a soapy water solution. The ratio of soap to water for leak testing is one part dish soap and 4 parts water. If the soap is concentrated, you can increase the water. Pour it over the pipeline and check for bubbles. The leak is likely in that spot if you see bubbles.