How to prevent your geyser from bursting

Let’s face it, your hot morning shower, or steamy evening bath is probably one of the greatest pleasures of your day. Hot water is what separates us from the animals. Hot water and WiFi.

And while King Price buildings insurance clients can sing their favourite tunes while they scrub-a-dub-dub, knowing that the king has their geysers insured in the event of a sudden leak or burst, we also think that prevention is better than cure….

And it means you won’t have to wear your rubber Superman flip flops in the communal shower at the gym anytime soon.

So here are our easy to remember tips to keep your geyser intact for longer:

1. Remember that your geyser is more likely to burst if the valves or the thermostat on your geyser are faulty, so have your geyser assessed by a qualified plumber (especially before winter when the chance of your geyser bursting is higher).

1. Keep your geyser cosy in the colder months by wrapping it in a geyser blanket to reduce heat loss. The temperature of the water inside the tank will also be more consistent. And, as a bonus, your electricity bill will be lower, because your geyser won’t be working quite as hard to keep the water temperature constant.
2. Install a drip tray under your geyser, and make sure that the outlet pipe of the drip tray will carry away most of the water if your geyser bursts. This will help limit how much of your stuff gets damaged, in the worst case scenario.
3. Get your geyser serviced every 3 years by a qualified plumber. This will involve:

• Checking all of your geyser’s parts
• Checking the tank and valves for leaks
• Removing lime scale and sludge (ewwww, gross) from the tank and element
• Checking the thermostat is functioning correctly
• Making sure the thermostat isn’t set too high (it shouldn’t be higher than 60 ⁰C)

Then again, you could do all these things right and still end up with a Tsunami inside your home. So make sure that your geysers are covered with King Price’s buildings insurance.

Keep in mind, as well, that when your geyser decides to go, it might decide to take some of your stuff with it, so be sure to insure your furniture, electronics, books and clothes, etc. with a home contents insurance policy from the king.