Every winter my garage develops a smell that I can only describe as gas station chic. It would hit me every time I opened the door from the house, and I kept telling myself it was just how garages smell in the cold. It is not. Gasoline odor in an enclosed space is a sign that fuel is evaporating somewhere, and that is worth fixing for more than the smell.

Find the source first

Gasoline smell almost always comes from one of three places: a loose cap, a leaking container, or old fuel sitting in something like a mower or snowblower. Do not just light a candle and call it fixed. Walk the garage and sniff around the cans and equipment with the door open.

Fix the usual suspects

• Check every fuel container. The cap seals dry out and crack. If a can smells even with the cap on, replace the cap or the whole can.
• Look for drips under the car and the mower. A slow leak on a fuel line leaves a stain and a smell.
• Stabilize the fuel in winter equipment. I add fuel stabilizer to the snowblower at the last fill of the season, then run it for five minutes so the treated gas reaches the carburetor.

Why cold weather makes it worse

Cold air does not carry smells as well, but it also does not ventilate. With the garage door shut all winter, fumes have nowhere to go and build up to the point where you notice them at the door from the house. That closed-door concentration is exactly why the smell is a winter problem even if the leak has been there since summer.

The habits that keep my garage neutral

I keep fuel cans in a plastic bin with a lid, which contains any residual fume. I also crack the garage door for ten minutes once a week when it is above freezing. And I stopped storing the gas can right next to the water heater. Gasoline vapors are heavier than air and can travel along the floor to a pilot light, which is a genuinely bad combination. A little rearranging and a few new caps, and the garage smells like sawdust and old tools again.