The scene dreaded by every homeowner is far too common. You receive a phone call from a neighbor or the fire department while you are away at work, traveling, or on vacation – Your old water heater finally gave out and burst, allowing water to flow quickly into your residence and flooding your home. It could take months to completely clean and remove rust and other harmful materials from your home, not to mention the damage that dozens of gallons of water will do alone.

Regardless of how well you maintain your storage-type water heater, this is an inevitable outcome if the water heater is not replaced with old age. A catastrophic failure caused by mineral deposits or old equipment could eventually leave your home in a mess, but the severity of damage can vary considerably depending on several factors. You might want to brush up on how devastating a burst water heater can be if you still use a storage heater in your house, especially if you’ve noticed it running slower lately.

Burst tanks may not always shut off automatically, so if nobody is around to shut off the power, the heater could run for hours after the tank bursts. It’s unlikely for your water heater to burst, but the chance of catastrophic damage caused by faulty water heaters still remains, so it’s strange that homeowners would put up with the risk at all — especially when tankless water heaters provide superior performance without the risks associated with conventional home heaters.