Homeserve boiler cover refused? 14 March at 6:25PM edited 14 March at 6:33PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 11 replies 451 views

kimberleyanddarren

I tried to take out a HomeServe policy which requires a health check within 90 days. 

Today I’ve had the health check completed but the engineer has said they wont accept cover on the boiler because ‘the water inside is too brown’

when asked for more information, he didn’t know what the cost/options would be other than getting an independent plumber to fix it then trying again with a new policy and new health check?? He did mention adding chemicals to one radiator to clear it. 

anyone have any experience with this?

many thanks  

Nobbie1967

Didn’t realise they checked the water in the system, but sounds like the system needs flushing and an inhibitor added. You can do it yourself with this stuff. https://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-x400-system-restorer-1ltr/89458

kimberleyanddarren

Nobbie1967 said:

Didn’t realise they checked the water in the system, but sounds like the system needs flushing and an inhibitor added. You can do it yourself with this stuff. https://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-x400-system-restorer-1ltr/89458

Great, thank you. Is it a complicated job? I haven’t don’t anything like it before. He did say it doesn’t need a power flush as it’s not that bad, so thinking this is exactly the kind of thing he was talking about 

Nobbie1967

kimberleyanddarren said:

Nobbie1967 said:

Didn’t realise they checked the water in the system, but sounds like the system needs flushing and an inhibitor added. You can do it yourself with this stuff. https://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-x400-system-restorer-1ltr/89458

Great, thank you. Is it a complicated job? I haven’t don’t anything like it before. He did say it doesn’t need a power flush as it’s not that bad, so thinking this is exactly the kind of thing he was talking about 

It’s fairly straightforward, but anything involving plumbing is a bit of a pain in my experience. Plenty of YouTube videos showing you how. https://youtu.be/u9BpDtTZK5o

FreeBear

To be honest, you may well be better off putting the premiums for the Home Serve policy in to a savings account. Come the day the boiler needs repairing, you then have funds available to pay for it. Use a local independent Gas Safe engineer, and that will help to keep the costs down.

plumb1_2

A lot of warranties by manufacturers and insurance backed will be classed a void due to having a dirty system. It’s common for them to test the water.

diystarter7

Hi OP

Could it be that your boiler was over ten years old they tested it as we have had none of ours tested

See it as a blessing in disguise, ie, if they covered it and you had a fault, the dirty water would have invalidated it

Not just for the insurance but to protect the whol CH system, consider a flush and new inhibitor and get the inhibitor changed as per instructions 

The above will give you a CH (rads, boiler, tvr, pipes) a better outlook

ThisIsWeird

K&D, any chance you could fit a magnetic filter to the return of the boiler? When you then add system cleaner - now an easy job, via the filter unit - it will collect the cleared sludge.

plumb1_2

diystarter7 said:

Hi OP

Could it be that your boiler was over ten years old they tested it as we have had none of ours tested

See it as a blessing in disguise, ie, if they covered it and you had a fault, the dirty water would have invalidated it

Not just for the insurance but to protect the whol CH system, consider a flush and new inhibitor and get the inhibitor changed as per instructions 

The above will give you a CH (rads, boiler, tvr, pipes) a better outlook

The Op stated it was because the water was dirty, not the age of the system 

diystarter7

plumb1_2 said:

diystarter7 said:

Hi OP

Could it be that your boiler was over ten years old they tested it as we have had none of ours tested

See it as a blessing in disguise, ie, if they covered it and you had a fault, the dirty water would have invalidated it

Not just for the insurance but to protect the whol CH system, consider a flush and new inhibitor and get the inhibitor changed as per instructions 

The above will give you a CH (rads, boiler, tvr, pipes) a better outlook

The Op stated it was because the water was dirty, not the age of the system 

Hi
So how old is the boiler and the CH system, plese?
Thnaks

ThisIsWeird

Dark brown water - or worse - indicates a system that has not been maintained, and has therefore suffered from some internal corrosion of the radiators. It is no surprise to me that they'd refuse to provide cover for such a system.

Clean the water out, tho', and try again. Meanwhile, the cleaner system will likely have benefits too.

There are sooo many problems that can be caused by sludgy coatings and build-ups.

The simplest way is to fit a magnetic filter, and then give it a good strong dose of system cleaner. Regularly check and clean the filter - once it stops collecting stuff, drain, refill, run, drain, refill, and add inhibitor.