Tank Sweeps when Purchasing a Home

Next to a home inspection, a tank sweep is an important inspection when buying a home.  Environmental regulations are not fair and place the responsibility of cleaning up contamination on the property owner, not the party that caused the contamination. When buying or selling a home have a tank sweep performed helps manage the liability of oil tanks.  In short metal rusts, holes appear, and oil will leak out of the tank to the extent that remediation is required by law and the owner is responsible for cleanup.   I would hope that both buyers and sellers understand that a $25,000 oil tank leak devalues a property and it also an expense a new homeowner wants to avoid, hence the need for tanks weeps, to find a problem before you find a problem.  And yes, an undisclosed oil tank is a problem.

The photo below relates to 25k worth of cleanup from a tank that was not supposed to be on the property.  No tank sweep was performed prior to purchase.  The buyer's realtor also documented that this area does not have buried oil tanks but was apparently wrong.

What is a tank sweep?

It is an evaluation of a property for prior oil heat and evidence of abandoned oil tanks.   Historically most buyers will end up leaving their homes within 5-10 years after purchase.    A home built in 1950, could have had 8 owners when measured from 2023.  An oil to gas conversion on a home could likely have been performed 3 owners ago, providing plausible deniability of the current owner having no knowledge of prior oil heat, since they purchased the home with natural gas as a fuel source.

Ask an Expert

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You do a tank sweep to prevent this from happening to you.

Can you scan 100% of a property?

No, no one can provide 100% coverage.   People install additions over tanks, park cars, decks, moving PODS, etc.  Note the photo below, a tank could be under a car, or the POD and no one would be able to survey those locations.

Ditto for this gem of a backyard.   The possessions strewn across this area will prohibit scanning the area.

Best Tank Sweep

At Curren we feel we provide the best possible sweep for a number of reasons:

Over 25 years in business

Licensed to remove tanks in 3 states, meaning we know tanks.

'Tens of thousands of tanks removed, knowing how tanks are buried and where helps when you are looking for a hidden tank.

Because we remove tanks, when we find a tank you can get a cost to remove the tank.  Clearly the owner must pay for removal but having instant cost helps with at least one of the unknowns.   In short it keeps the process moving forward.

Tank Sweep Questions?

888-301-1050