Oil Tank Sweep in Hunterdon County, NJ

What’s So Harmful About Oil Tanks in Hunterdon County?

Underground oil tanks possess more of a risk than those above ground. The simple fact that they can’t be visually inspected is the major issue and it can be difficult to handle leak cleanup because it goes deep into the soil itself. It’s not recommended to utilize an existing underground heating oil tank in Hunterdon County – especially since the property can usually easily be converted to gas heat.

With time, every tank will eventually start to oxidize. This creates rust and allows for the oil left in the tank to penetrate the weakened metal. This leads to oil spills into the soil and water that are surrounding the area of the underground heating oil tank. Even a small amount of oil can be extremely harmful to the environment. Think about your soil, your groundwater, and even your neighbor’s property. All this contamination will need to be cleaned up.

What Can An Oil Tank Sweep in Hunterdon County Do For You?

When you opt for undergoing an oil tank search in Hunterdon County, you can easily determine whether or not there is an underground tank at a specific property. When you call out our expert technicians, they will bring specialized equipment to perform the search. Our equipment entails ground-penetrating radar and electric reading devices. We’ll do a sweep of our equipment over the entire property to determine if there is any underground object present. A sweep is necessary for all the following reasons

Mortgage Approval

Most mortgage lenders know about the financial dangers of paying for environmental cleanup and removal fees because of leaky underground oil tanks. For this reason, many will require you have a professional tank sweep performed before they will approve the mortgage loan. You should talk with your lender to identify if this is the case for your loan so you can get your oil tank sweep scheduled right away.

Insurance Issues

In Hunterdon County and elsewhere in NJ, it is not uncommon for insurance companies to shy away from offering coverage in the event of certain perils. Underground oil tanks tend to be one of those perils where your insurance provider may not cover any damage to your property or other properties due to a leak.

Protect Your Financial Stability

Once you own the property, you become liable for the things on it. This includes things like underground heating oil tanks that you didn’t even realize were there. In the event of a leak, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars in cleanup expenses. This is a lot of money to pay out of pocket and can drastically hurt your financial stability in the future.

Fire Hazard

While the oil itself is not overly dangerous, the vapors that it produces can be. When these vapors escape from an underground tank into a structure, it can sometimes result in combustion. This will cause a fire in the structure.

At the end of your scheduled oil tank scan, our technician will provide you with a comprehensive report of the information they discovered. By using both the readings from the ground penetrating radar and physical evaluation of the property, you’ll be able to discover exactly where a tank is at. Your next step will be to evaluate whether or not the tank has been decommissioned or abandoned.

Decommissioned Vs Abandoned Tanks

If your oil tank sweep in Hunterdon County NJ turns up positive for an underground heating oil tank, then you need to determine if it was abandoned or properly decommissioned. An abandoned underground oil tank is one that the homeowner simply left as-is. A decommissioned tank, on the other hand, has been safely put out of use. This includes things like draining all the oil and inserting a permanent cover over the tank valve.

When a tank is decommissioned properly, it shouldn’t cause you any sort of future harm. However, if an underground heating oil tanks were let abandoned, this can be a hotbed of future financial liability. In fact, you may find that the tank has sprung a leak and caused significant damage to the surrounding environment.

Financial Liability Is On The Homeowner

Getting an oil tank sweep when buying a home in Hunterdon County is imperative to protecting your financial future. Once you legally purchase a property, every piece of it becomes your responsibility. If an old underground heating oil tank is found leaking, then you’ll be the one paying out of pocket for the damage.

It’s important to note that most insurance companies won’t cover damage created by an underground heating oil tank. This can leave you susceptible to tens of thousands of dollars worth of cleanup costs that you’ll need to pay out of pocket. For this reason, it makes total sense to protect your long-run financial stability by investing a little money now to have a property sweep performed.

If you’re looking to schedule an oil tank sweep for a home that you’re thinking about purchasing, be sure to give our office a call as soon as possible. We can typically send out a technician the same day or the next day. We service all areas in Hunterdon County, NJ, and our helpful technician will be sure to provide you with a conclusive report before they leave the property. That way, you know what your next plan of action will be that day.