Half-Baked Beats Blown to Bits

Thursday, June 21st, 2018     by Debra DuPree Williams     Start the Conversation

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

One thing about me that most people don’t know is that I have a super-sensitive nose. That’s right, I’ve been gifted with the nose of a blood hound.

To prove my point, here is a short story. Our youngest son and I were walking through a mall in Florida one day. We were coming from one end, exiting through one of the big anchors, level two, into the promenade inside the mall. I told my son that I smelled spearmint and that someone nearby was chewing spearmint gum. Now, we all know that very distinctive odor. You probably don’t smell it as I do, but you are familiar with it.

We made our way down the storefronts and the aroma grew stronger. Son, didn’t smell it. Yet. We make our way to the other end of the mall and took the escalator to the bottom floor. Now, the smell was almost overpowering. At the bottom of the escalator, on the first floor, all the way on the opposite end of the mall, stood a woman taking one of those familiar surveys. She was smacking away on none other than spearmint gum. And this is just one such story of which there are too many to count.

Cooking With Gas
I’ve only recently begun to cook with gas. In the past, I’ve only had electric stoves. Neither my husband nor I had a clue that we shouldn’t be smelling gas. Period.

So, I go in to cook dinner Monday night. I turn on the oven to put in the chicken and it reeks of gas. Well, I didn’t think much about it. Gas stoves always smell like gas when you first turn them on. Don’t they? But I texted hubby and told him that it was still smelling.

The week before, it was late afternoon and I had been sitting in our den, around the corner from the kitchen, and I thought I smelled gas, again. This made about the fifth or sixth time that I could really smell it. Thing is, the stove hadn’t been turned on all day. Hey, I’m a writer, not a cook (actually, I’m an excellent southern cook). I called my husband down from his office to smell it. He entered the kitchen and agreed, yes, there was definitely a gas odor. But we didn’t call the gas company. A big no-no.


The Gas Man Cometh
Fast forward to Monday. I put my Greek-style chicken breasts into the oven, turned it on and let the little beauties cook away . . . for about twenty minutes. In the meantime, I went into my office and texted the love of my life that I still smelled gas, maybe we really should contact the gas company. Next thing I know, here comes the gas man, knocking on the door.

All of this is my way of giving you some safety tips in regards to gas. I have lived my entire life without knowing these things. And I’m no spring chicken, unlike the lovely breasts cooking away, or by now, not so much cooking as sitting there half-baked, since the gas man told me to turn off the oven.

If You Smell Gas
  • Get out of your house. Period. Just go!
  • Do NOT turn off the gas. (Yes, you read that right).
  • By all means do NOT turn ON the gas!!
  • Do NOT strike a match, or a lighter or anything else.
  • Do NOT flip any switch of any kind, ON or OFF.
  • Do NOT use your cell phone.
  • Get away from your house.
  • NOW you may call the gas company.

We live in a gated community with a manned gate. I didn’t know this, but they won’t contact you in any way to let you know the gas man cometh as it could cause a spark and blow up your home.

When he arrived, the gas man knocked after he checked the gas levels around our front door. He did NOT ring the doorbell. He came inside, told me to go ahead and turn off the oven, then he proceeded to check the stove top, burner, by burner. He even had me to tell him if the gas coming from an unlighted burner was what I had smelled. I assured him that it was. He then had me turn the oven on as he checked it for a leak. No gas leaks. At least, not the natural gas that I was smelling. But, we do have an issue with our new stove. It isn’t efficiently burning the gas that is pumped into it and therefore, has a carbon monoxide buildup. A very high-level carbon monoxide buildup. We opened the rear door, not far from the kitchen, to let the gasses leave our home.

I’d Rather Be Cooking
So, we will spend about two weeks eating microwavable meals, sandwiches, delivered pizzas, or in restaurants. That’s about how long it will take the repair company to order, receive, and come test our stove with the same type gas meter the gas man used.

So now you know what to do should you ever experience such. I pray that you do not, but the gas man cautioned that this could have been disastrous. And I’m giving extra thanks to my Heavenly Father for the gift of my blood hound nose.

Be safe, my friends.

Have you ever had a gas leak in your home? Did you follow all of these precautions? Tell us about that below.

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