If your home uses heating oil to stay warm, you know that you must reorder the heating oil at regular intervals. But if you just moved into a new house and this will be your first delivery, you might not know what to expect. Here are some tips for heating oil delivery that will make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible. Even homeowners who have already taken delivery of heating oil on a regular basis might stand to benefit from reading up on best practices for inviting a heating oil service to their home.

Figure Out Tank Positioning 

Draw a circle around your house in your mind's eye. Picture where the tank is that needs to be refilled. Being able to tell the heating oil company that the tank is at the "5 o'clock" position within your yard when looking at the front door could prove helpful. The heating oil truck will need to be positioned as close as possible to the tank, so confirming the tank location and communicating this with the heating oil company before they arrive is very useful.

Clear the Area Around the Tank

Is there snow on the ground? Have a bunch of weeds taken over the area around the tank? Do you have a shrubbery or tree that is starting to encroach on the area? Clear the area of any obstructions before your fresh heating oil arrives in order to avoid any delays or other issues when the heating oil company arrives.

Clear the Area to the Tank If Applicable

Beyond just clearing the area around the tank, be aware of what time of year it is. If there is snow on the ground, you will want to shovel a path from the road to the tank. Failing to do this could make carrying the heating oil dangerous or at least slow the process down. If things are especially bad, the heating oil company might not even bother getting out of the truck until you've gotten out the snow blower and shovel and cleared the yard so they have a path to get through.

Get Your Pets and Kids Indoors

You don't want pets nipping at the heels of the delivery guys or kids running around in the yard while delivery is in progress. Tell your family what's going on and get everyone out of the yard and safely in the house.

Be Prepared to Lose Heat

You'll also need to tell people in the house though that the heating will be turned off while the tank is refilled. You might be asked by the heating oil firm to keep the heat off for a certain number of hours before turning it back on.

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