October is the month to service your geyser

Every year the same thing happens. The first genuinely cold week of the season arrives, thousands of geysers across the tricity are switched on after six months of standing idle, and a good number of them do not work properly. Our phone does not stop for about ten days.

Why the failures cluster

A geyser that has sat unused since March has scale settled on the element, a thermostat that has not cycled in months, and often a pressure-release valve that has crusted shut. None of that is visible while the appliance is off. You find out the morning you actually need hot water.

What servicing in October gets you

• A technician can come the same day, instead of in three days' time
• Descaling before the season means the geyser heats at full speed all winter, not after it has already cost you a month of extra electricity
• The safety items — valve, anode rod, earthing — get checked while there is no urgency
• If a part is needed, there is time to order the right one rather than fit whatever is available

If your geyser is more than five years old and has never been descaled, do it before you switch it on for the season rather than after. Switching on a heavily scaled element is how elements burn out.

The five-minute check you can do yourself

Before you call anyone: switch the geyser on and listen. A knocking or crackling sound while heating is scale. Watch the outlet — if water runs cloudy at first draw, that is sediment. Feel the socket and the MCB after twenty minutes; anything warm to the touch needs an electrician before it needs a plumber.

What it costs

Descaling takes about ninety minutes. What the job costs depends on what the technician finds — how heavy the scale is, whether the element or the thermostat has to be changed — so he tells you the full amount before starting. The visiting charge for your city is separate from the cost of the work.