Oven Smells Like Gas When Preheating: Normal or Dangerous?

If your oven smells like gas and the smell is strong, lingers or smells like rotten eggs, stop reading, leave the house and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. A faint odor for the first few minutes while a gas oven lights and preheats can be normal; GE says that combustion odor goes away within a few minutes as the oven heats up. A smell that is stronger, lasts longer or is there when the oven is off is not something to troubleshoot yourself.

If you smell gas, do this first

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) lays out the rules:

• Do not turn light switches or other electrical switches on or off, and do not use a phone inside, because any of them can spark.
• Do not light a match, a lighter or any other flame.
• Get everyone out of the house.
• Call 911 or your gas utility from a neighbor's house or somewhere well away from the leak.
• Do not go back in until the utility or the fire department says it is safe.

Never look for the leak or try to fix it, and never tighten, loosen or test a gas fitting. Whirlpool gives the same advice: do not track down or try to resolve a leak on your own. Gas lines and connections are work for your gas utility or a licensed gas professional. Once the gas side has been checked and made safe, our technicians can repair the oven itself.

Oven smells like gas when preheating: what is normal

GE separates two very different smells. When a gas oven first lights, the burning gas gives off an unusual odor that fades within a few minutes as the oven heats. Unburned gas smells completely different; some people compare it to rotten eggs, and GE says it is not normal to smell unburned gas in your home.

Whirlpool describes the normal version the same way: a quick whiff of gas as the igniter does its job during preheating, brief and faint, that fades after a few minutes.

A simple rule:

• Normal: faint, only as the burner lights, gone within a few minutes.
• Not normal: strong, lasting, getting worse, present with the oven off, or smelling like rotten eggs. Leave and call.

An electric oven does not burn gas at all. Whirlpool notes that a gas-like smell from an electric oven while preheating usually comes from food residue heating up.

Rotten egg smell

Natural gas is odorized so that leaks can be noticed, and PHMSA describes the result as the distinctive rotten egg smell. Whirlpool adds that a leak can also cause headaches and dizziness, or a hissing sound. If you notice any of these, do not wait until you feel sick and do not look for the source; follow the steps above.

A gas oven should not smell like gas when it is off. Whirlpool notes that a cooktop knob bumped partway on can release gas, but a gas smell with everything off, faint or not, is a reason to follow the steps above rather than hunt for the cause.

Burning smell from spills and foil

A burning smell is not a gas smell, even though the two are easy to confuse while the oven heats. Whirlpool says heavily soiled ovens can produce odors or smoke, and that foil liners can block the oven's vents, trap old food and interfere with combustion. The CPSC says not to cover the bottom of a natural gas or propane oven with aluminum foil. Let the oven cool, take out any liner or foil and clean up the spills.

If a burning smell comes with sparks or a bright flash from an electric element, switch off the breaker. The element has failed and needs to be replaced before you use the oven again.

New oven smell

A new oven has its own smell. Whirlpool says a small amount of smoke or odor is normal the first few times you use a new range or oven, from heating new parts, insulation, a protective oil coating and shipping tape, and that it is not harmful. Remove all the packaging first, then run the oven empty: Whirlpool suggests Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes, repeated once or twice if needed, and GE suggests Bake at 500°F for 45 minutes, or a Self Clean cycle of at least 3 hours on models that have one. Open a window and run the hood fan while it burns off, and move pet birds to another room, since GE and Whirlpool both warn that oven fumes can harm some birds.

A new gas range that smells of raw gas, rather than hot metal and oil, is a different matter. Leave, call, and have the installer or the gas utility check the connection.

Self-clean smell

Self-clean burns soil to ash at very high temperatures, so some odor and a little smoke are normal. Keep the kitchen ventilated, move birds out of the area and wipe out loose grease before you start. Our guide to oven door locked after self-clean covers self-clean safety in more detail.

Weak igniter and delayed ignition

Most gas ovens light with a hot-surface igniter, a glow bar that heats until it can light the gas. Whirlpool notes that a damaged igniter can delay lighting the gas or fail to light it at all. As an igniter weakens, the oven lights later and struggles to preheat; our guide to oven not heating up explains this classic failure.

Delayed ignition is the dangerous version: a loud whoomp or boom when the oven lights, or the door jumping. GE says delayed ignition requires service. Turn the oven off, do not use it again until it has been checked, and if you smell gas, leave and call.

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is different from a gas leak. The CPSC calls it a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas, so your nose will not warn you. A burner that is not burning cleanly can produce it; yellow, lazy flames and soot on the cooktop are covered in gas stove burner not lighting. The CPSC's advice:

• Install battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with battery backup, on every level of your home and outside sleeping areas. The CPSC does not recommend installing them in kitchens or above fuel-burning appliances.
• Never use a gas range or oven to heat your home.
• Know the early symptoms: headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness.
• If the alarm sounds, move outside to fresh air immediately and call 911 or the fire department.

What usually causes it

• Food residue, grease or foil. A burning smell, often with smoke. That calls for cleaning, not a repair.
• New oven burn-off. A hot metal and oil odor for the first few uses.
• Weak oven igniter. Late lighting, slow preheat or delayed ignition.
• Gas safety valve or burner. The igniter works, but the burner lights late or the flame is uneven.
• A leak at the connection or supply line. A rotten egg smell with the oven on or off. That is for the gas utility or a licensed gas professional.

What it costs in Jacksonville

On a freestanding gas range, the diagnostic is $79 and repairs start at $179 plus parts. Built-in wall ovens and double ovens take longer to access, so the diagnostic is $119 and repairs start at $249 plus parts. The diagnostic is waived when you approve the repair, and you get a written flat-rate estimate before any work begins. Typical all-in repairs on standard brands run $180 to $400 for a range and $280 to $500 for a wall oven; premium brands run higher. Igniters are among the less expensive oven parts, and many repairs can be finished on the first visit. Every repair carries our 90-day parts-and-labor warranty. See our pricing.

Schedule oven repair or range repair, or call (904) 561-4790 for same-day service across Jacksonville & the First Coast.