5 Ways To Prevent Domestic Oil Leaks
Domestic oil leaks are extremely dangerous, which means it’s essential to take preventative measures to protect your family and your property from environmental damage and potential damage claims. Fortunately, oil leak prevention isn’t difficult; these five strategies will help you do just that.
1) Don’t store more than necessary
If you don’t need it for a few weeks, don’t store it! Keeping your heating oil stocks at an appropriate level ensures that you are not liable to leaks or spills. If you store too much fuel in your tank, it can heat up and expand into your pipes. This creates conditions that increase the likelihood of a spill. If you keep as little heating oil in storage as possible, you will be less likely to encounter problems.
If you’re in an environment where temperature changes are possible, avoid placing your oil tank near sources of extreme heat or cold. This will help keep it as stable as possible and reduce risks for leaks. It’s also a good idea to move your tanks to prevent contamination if you know bad weather is on its way.
2) Regularly check your tank
Because leaks can arise at any time, and because it’s not possible to predict when a leak will happen, it’s important to regularly check your fuel tank for signs of a leak. This means that you need to be checking your oil tank every two weeks throughout summer, and once every week during winter. When inspecting your fuel tank, look out for stains on or around your unit.
3) Be aware of any oily smells
You might have a leaking oil tank without even knowing it. That’s why you should always stay alert for any odd smells in your home. While some heating oil tank owners aren’t even aware of any leaks, others might notice an unpleasant smell but disregard it as just being part of everyday life. However, that scent could be a sign that you need to call your heating fuel distributor shropshire for repair work on your equipment to stop a potential leak from becoming worse.
4) Act quickly if there are signs of a leak
A common mistake is to ignore small amounts of oil or leaks that only occur occasionally. Although it’s true that even a small leak can add up over time, it’s vital to act quickly if you suspect your fuel tank has sprung a leak. Prompt action can prevent leaks from worsening and becoming more dangerous.
5) Monitor and become familiar with your normal usage rate of oil
You’ll probably have a good idea of how much heating oil you tend to use each year, so it’s worth keeping an eye on your readings every so often. If you notice anything unusual, such as an unusually high usage rate one month, then get in touch with us or your local fuel distributor. They will be able to check for any potential leaks or spills and make sure everything is okay.
If there is a leak do not:
If you do notice a leak, do not attempt to fix it yourself. Instead, call fuel distributor companies or heating oil suppliers immediately and let them know what has happened. That way they can either deal with it themselves or send a professional engineer to deal with it for you. Remember that large amounts of oil have very high energy levels and are very dangerous.