What to Do If Your Oil Tank Is Leaking in New York
Homeowners in the Greater Mount Sinai area face a lot of potential hazards, including fires, wind damage, and floods. Sometimes, you may even be confronted by a Nor’Easter or a hurricane. But an issue many homeowners never see coming is an oil tank leak. The damage this hazard causes can vary greatly depending on whether the oil tank is inside or outside, along with the size of the leak and how long it’s been happening.
But don’t worry! GreenSeal Oil Tank Service is here to answer your most pressing questions about oil tank leaks, including how to spot one and what to do when you find it.
How Do You Know If Your Oil Tank Is Leaking?
First, you need to determine if you have an indoor or outdoor oil tank. A leak in an above-ground storage tank will be easy to notice because of the smell, regardless of if it’s inside or outside. Even a small amount of fuel oil has a pungent odor. If you notice a strong oil smell near your tank, immediately give it a visual inspection for signs of a leak on the floor or ground.
If you have an outdoor oil tank that’s buried belowground, it will be much harder to know if you have a leak until there is some type of environmental damage.
What Should You Do If Your Suffolk County Oil Tank Is Leaking?
If you discover a leak in your oil tank, it’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately. That being said, it must be approached differently depending on where your oil tank is located.
For Indoor Oil Tanks:
Notify your local fire department. If you smell oil, contact the fire department immediately. Oil is combustible, and they need to know there’s a potential fire hazard.
You can immediately put some catch pans underneath the tank to try and catch the oil that is coming out. The goal is to reduce the spread of the oil that is leaking.
Ventilate the area. Immediately open any windows to get rid of potentially toxic fumes.
Close off the area around the leak. Do not let anyone near the leak until fire officials arrive. Consider moving your family to a relative’s house or a hotel until the issue is resolved.
Contact an oil cleanup contractor to get the oil pumped out of the tank as soon as possible: Cleaning up oil is not a do-it-yourself activity. A professional will be able to tell you if the oil tank must be replaced, and GreenSeal Oil can help you remove an old tank and install a new one.
For Outdoor Oil Tanks:
Take a soil sample. If you suspect an outdoor oil tank leak, contact an environmental expert to take a soil sample from the ground around your oil tank.
Contact GreenSeal Oil Tank Service for an oil tank abandonment. Our tripolymer foam abandonments create no property damage and are an environmentally safe way to remove your buried oil tank.
Related Post: 9 Signs You Might Need Oil Tank Replacement on Long Island
Contact GreenSeal Now if Your Oil Tank is Leaking
If you discover your oil tank is leaking or you would just like an old oil tank removed or a new one installed, GreenSeal Oil Tank Services is your local Suffolk County, NY oil tank specialist. The team at GreenSeal can’t wait to help you with an oil tank removal, installation, or abandonment.
Contact us today to learn more about our services or schedule with us!
