Puffback question...

I don't own a home, so please bear with me.

We rent the ground floor of a house and have oil heat. I have no idea if the landlord ever has the burner cleaned. But I noticed that the room the oil burner and water heater is in, has black soot on the cieling and other surfaces.

Is that a sign of an impending puffback? My landlord rarely does anything that requires work to the house like cleaning gutters, etc.

And when we do compain about anything that needs $ to fix, he comes back shortly after with a threat to raise our rent.

So if this is a serious situation, I think I'm going to get the people upstairs to complain. They've gotten a lot of things done by him, and can afford their rent raised!!

Re: Puffback question...

it could be, I would def. have you & the tenant upstairs bring your case to him. If he threatens a raise in your rent because of it, you could technically bring him to small claims

Re: Puffback question...

a puffback would have your whole apartment covered in black soot. It would be everywhere..try wiping a counter to see if there's black residue.

Most likely the system needs a cleaning and that should be covered by an oil contract. It shouldn't cost him any more or less to have it cleaned if he has the contract.

Definitely bring it up to him. We had a mini puffback and it was taken care of. It took a few times cleaning the house to get it all taken care of.

Re: Puffback question...

If you're finding soot on the ceiling and other surfaces, then the oil burner is in serious need of a cleaning. He needs to be informed of this immediately; in writing, if necessary. As a landlord, he has to maintain habitable quarters for his tenants. If he threatens to raise rent for providing basic maintenance, then I would tell him I will see him in Housing Court. He can threaten all he wants, but, the law in on your side and he, probably, knows it.

Re: Puffback question...

oil burners need cleaning/servicing on an annual basis. If not, it could lead to serious issues with the way it runs or it not running AT ALL.

Re: Puffback question...

We rented a basement apartment for awhile and had a puffback there. For a few days before the puffback occured the air didn't smell right and seemed smoky. I warned DH but he didn't notice it. A few days later the actual puffback happened. It wasn't as bad as it could have been but most things were covered in a thin layer of soot. It sounds as if you could be on your way to a puff back, I def would contact your landlord with your concerns.

Re: Puffback question...

we had several puff backs at my parents home and it is the worst - soot goes EVERYWHERE!! Royal pain in the neck! I would definitely call the landlord and tell him to look at it or he will be getting your cleaning bill from the puff back!