Exciting afternoon. Our geyser burst, pouring water into the kitchen, down into the fuse box and the ceiling full of water. Thank goodness DH was here and he turned off the water immediately. Called a plumber in and he has made sure that we have running (cold) water until he installs a new geyser tomorrow morning. If I had not have found it as quickly as I did it could have been a lot worse.

Our off peak hot water system is in the corner of the garage.A few yrs ago I noticed a white stain on the concrete in front of the tank ,called the plumber who said it was alright for the moment ,months later husband was in hospital & the mark on the floor was getting bigger but even after he came home ,he reckoned it was alright.Came home from shopping & the floor was wet .husband had walked by the wet floor ,& didn't even notice it that morning..Called the plumber who was on another job but he ordered the new hot water system to be delivered straight away & he would come in 2hrs..While the plumber was draining the water out of the old one ,the new one arrived & the old one was taken away.The whole thing took about 4 hrs ,from the time we rang the plumber till the new one was installed ready to start heating the water that night.Discovered the old one had only been working on one element because I was worried that the hot water which was emptying out on the grass would kill it,so I felt the water & it was cold,they didn't believe until they felt it too.Only had to pay the plumber for the new hot water system & his time..
Glad that yours is now fixed ,you don't realise how much we rely on certain things until they break down.

Glad it was found quickly! Mine burst 2am in the middle of winter, and I did not wake until my room was 6 to 8 inches under water... (also in South Africa)

My poor cat was trying to get out of the water, he was half in and half out. And we could not find the place to turn off the water! It was outside the yard and we found it hours later. What a mess. And it was VERY cold. And we had to soak the water up towel by towel...

By this time you will hopefully be sorted out, with a nice new geyser, and warm water. Good luck!

All is well and at last hot water. Thank you all for your kind comments. Sarah

Glad you were able to get it repaired and I hope it dries out quickly.

Thank goodness that the fuse box didn't have a bad wire. So glad the plumber could get to you so quickly.

2 comments

by lindalee757 16 May 2014

WOW!!!

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

It could have been so much worse.

Dear Sarah, thank God for plumbers. We've had the same plumber since we arrived here in Newcastle and are on first name terms! I've even told all the kids about him. He is retired, but he has others working for him these day. So glad it is all fixed, nothing worse than water damage! Love Chris

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

We have never needed a plumber before as Klaus fixes everything but this he obviously could not do. Luckily the household insurance will pay for it. The ceiling in the kitchen looks very wet - just hope that none of the ceiling boards will need replacing.

I do hope it is all cleaned up now and that you are peacefully sleeping as I type this comment.
Hugs

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

We are up and about and waiting for the plumber to com and install the new one. Cannot wait to have some hot water again.

I am so glad you found the origin of your problem. I am not sure what a geyser is. I am glad you were able to stop the influx of water soon.

4 comments

by toogie 16 May 2014

May be a hot water heater?

by ansalu 16 May 2014

Think this is a boiler/ flow-type heater. Had this once and I liked it but needs a lot of energy.

by rescuer 16 May 2014

It is a hot water boiler -- they have them in solar energy now.

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

All new houses now seem to have solar but it is very expensive to install in an older house - unfortunately

Oh, we had a lot of visits from mechanics and plumbers the last weeks. First thought the water comes from the washing machine but the mechanic says she was as good as new (15years old but a Miele!). Then water pours out of the dishwasher next to the washingmachine. The mechanic changed a valve and I hoped this would be it. After this every time you do the laundry the dirty water comes up in the dishwasher. You had to pump down the water from there or you could not use one of the two machines. Now we called the plumber and he finds that one of the tubes to the machine was slipped under the cupboard and in addition there were no check valve,
Happily I can use now both machines again.
Hope your problem is solved now and you can bring everything back in his place :o)
Greetings, Bettina

5 comments

by asterixsew 16 May 2014

Bettina it sounds as if you have been having quite a time

by crafter2243 16 May 2014

This sounds like a horrid experience. Did you have to pay each and every one?

by ansalu edited 16 May 2014

Yes it wasn't funny. And we have to pay every visit including the last one yesterday. My husband tried to exchange a angle valve under our wash-bowl and it was so rusty that he could not fix it. We had to call the plumber again. This was an expensive month :-(

by ansalu 16 May 2014

Why are so many words put together after using the edit-button? My text looks terrible now :o(

by rescuer 16 May 2014

The words will fix themselves once you refresh the page. It is just like magic!

Water damage is the worst. So glad you caught it quickly. Best part is it did not come close to your stitching!

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

Thank goodness Christine

Oh Sarah thank goodness this didn't happen while you were away. Hope your sorted soon.

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

That is exactly what I keep saying to DH. Even if we had been out for a few hours it would have been a lot worse

Wish we could all pop round and help you clean up.

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

So do I!!!! It was not too bad.

OK, what is a geyser, Sarah? We have some in Yellowstone National Park, but I know it is not what you are talking about.......whatever it is, I am thrilled it is under control........water damage is not fun!!

1 comment

by airyfairy 17 May 2014

It is the storage tank for the hot water in the roof. Heats the in coming cold water.