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We are seeking advice about annual cleaning of the boiler/chimney for our 5-story/20 unit brownstone. We have a cast-iron peerless boiler with a carlin oil burner.

It seems like the last time we cleaned the chimney was over 10 years ago. Our oil co says cleaning this is not necessary (“there’s a sump that the debris drops into”) while a chimney company is telling us this absolutely must be done annually.

Additionally, our boiler is very sooty and the water is filthy. Again, our current oil company says it is not an issue, while another recommends cleaning. The first bid we got was for $750, which would be a big hit to our annual budget. Our oil company charges $275 for a “vac” cleaning, but we’re not sure how thorough this is. And the price difference is concerning.

Basically, we’d like to be sure the unit is running safely and efficiently without spending a ton of money on service that’s nice but not necessary.

We’re curious how important cleaning the boiler and/or chimney is, what sort of schedule we should look at, how much improvement we might see in efficiency, and if anyone has any companies to recommend.

thanks in advance!