Edgewater, Maryland: A great place to live. But you probably knew that already. It is a suburb of Annapolis, MD. Edgewater is on a peninsula and it’s surrounded by many bodies of water, such as the Atlantic Ocean…
No, not really! I just wanted to see if you were paying attention.
Edgewater is surrounded by Glebe Creek, Glebe Bay, Almshouse Creek, Warehouse Creek, Beards Creek, Scotts Cove and South River, the largest of the bunch, as well as many smaller creeks, coves, branches, etc.
Edgewater also has Lee Airport, a small private airport. The population of this city is approximately 10,000 people. It is located right off of MD-214 and the main thoroughfare through Edgewater is MD-RT 2.
Why Underground Heating Oil Tanks Are A Problem For Edgewater Residents
Something else about Edgewater you may not know: many homes in Edgewater still have oil heat and/or oil water heaters & boilers.
This means many homes have or had either buried oil tanks or aboveground oil tanks. If you have an Underground Heating Oil Storage Tank or (UST) in an area of high groundwater and in an area with stormwater runoff and drainage problems, that can be a recipe for a big mess. Also, if you have an Aboveground Storage Tank or (AST), it is more than 20 years old and the tank leaks and you do not realize it, this could also be very problematic and costly for the property owner.
When And Why To Replace Your Heating Tanks
Remember the average life of a heating oil tank is 20 years. That means if you have a UST or an AST from before the year 2000, you should have GreenTRAX replace it.
We’ll either replace UST or AST with brand new ASTs, or switch you to another source of heat.
Just so you know, most all buried tanks are older than 20 years, and they are usually much, much older. They may even be original to the house. What can be worrisome is that the homeowner will never know for sure they have a leaking buried oil tank. Believe it or not, we even see that many people do not realize when they have an aboveground oil tank leak until it’s much too late.
How To Know If Your Heating Tank Is Leaking
Once you start seeing dead and brown grass, dead vegetation, or smelling oil in the house, seeing oil in the sump pump basin, or having red heating oil puddles on the top of the ground, then it is already too late.
Oil tanks rust and corrode from the inside out. If the tank is underground, it will degrade from the outside as well as the inside. Heating oil is very dirty and over the years sludge will build up in the tank while also holding moisture. This will contribute to the deterioration of the tank.
Other warning signs to look for that your tank is past its useful lifespan are:
- Sludge build up in the tank to the point that it stops the furnace
- The oil supply line sucks in too much water
- A whistle vent that is not functioning
- A fill or vent pipe that has rusted through or broken off
- If the oil-fired furnace in the house has to be replaced, it is likely that the tank and furnace are the same age (or the tank may even be older than the furnace)
What Not To Do With Your Old Heating Tank
Do not paint an old aboveground tank and think that will prolong the lifespan, it will not. And people never paint the bottom and that is where all oil tank leaks occur. Again, the leaks come from the inside out.
Do not replace a broken steel fill pipe or steel vent pipe with PVC. This is not to code and this will cause any oil delivery company to STOP filling your oil tank and put you on a DO NOT DELIVER or DELIVERY HOLD list.
Think about it: if the pipes are old enough to rust through, then what do you think the rest of the tank below ground looks like? That should be your lightbulb turning on that you have a problem with the tank and you should get it removed right away.
If your aboveground tank is showing significant signs of age such as a lot of visible rust on the outside, this is a good indicator the tank is over 20 years old and you should replace it BEFORE it starts to leak to save yourself money in environmental cleanup and remediation.
Why You Should Remove Your Buried Oil Tank Before Selling Your House
If you have a buried oil tank and you are getting ready to sell your house, or even if you are thinking about it, get the tank removed and replaced BEFORE you list the house or get a contract on the house.
This saves you time and money by doing it early. Having a new aboveground tank instead of a buried oil tank will also help the house be more attractive to buyers. But the biggest reason is that many buyers’ home insurance companies, banks, or lenders can and will REQUIRE the UST be removed BEFORE they will let the buyer go to settlement.
How To Easily Remove Your Oil Tank With GreenTRAX
Many people are concerned about the cost, timing and yard disturbance of a tank removal and dealing with a leak.
Don’t worry – the house does not have to be demolished to perform an oil tank leak cleanup. The entire yard does not have to be dug up.
It does not have to cost tens of thousands of dollars to perform the cleanup.
And it does not take weeks to perform the work.
With GreenTRAX, we will help you through the whole process. We are the best, most efficient, most helpful, and most reliable residential heating oil tank company in Maryland.
If GreenTRAX, Inc. performs the UST removal, it only takes a matter of hours to complete, not days. It costs in the ballpark area of +/- $2000 to perform a basic normal UST removal. And remember, if the tank has leaked, you will be covered by the Maryland residential homeowner reimbursement fund.
For any questions about the fund, or any of the other questions about removing your oil take, feel free to get in touch and we will help answer all of your questions.
Call GreenTRAX today at (410) 439-1085.
