hazchem wrote:
I live on the ground floor of a block of flats in London. I came
back
to my flat from holiday and immediately noticed an unpleasant smell.
I
thought at first it smelled like ripe cheese like camembert but
later
I thought it smelled like sewage.

It seemed to be coming from a storage area where the gas meter is. I
removed everything in the storage area and these things do not
smell.
The storage area still smells though. I don't really know what gas
smells like do I don't know if I have a gas leak. There doesn't seem
to be any dampness as far as I can see.

What should my next step be? I don't want to have to put up with the
smell forever.

Don't screw around with it--call the gas company to check it out.

They aren't going to get mad if it turns out to be something else and
if it _is_ a gas leak and doesn't get prompt attention then people,
yourself included, could die.

For future reference, if you suspect a gas leak, don't "remove
everything in the area", just leave the area, and call the gas company
from a safe distance (like standing in the street or from a different
building). Don't turn any lights on or off, don't open or close any
doors except those between you and the exit, don't do anything but
leave. You don't want to do _anything_ that has the tiniest chance of
making a spark--a rusty hinge moving can do that, so can a latch
striking the jamb, so can your hand approaching the doorknob, so can
turning a light switch on or off, so can dialing a phone.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)