Building a personalized water leak detection plan involves 3 easy steps
1. Assess your home and do regular inspections
Explore your home and note all possible leak sources, from plumbing fixtures to water-reliant appliances, especially uncommon ones, like an ice maker or water softener system. Also check pipes that run through your basement to the house, shutoff valves under sinks, toilet flush valves and water heater supply lines. If you can, map your home’s plumbing. Without blueprints, you can do this visually by following water pipe paths in the basement to utilities and appliances upstairs.
Once you’ve assessed the vulnerable areas for potential water leaks, do a baseline inspection of what looks “normal” (meaning it is not leaking). That way you’ll know if something appears “off” during future inspections. Conduct consistent inspections of common leak-prone areas such as under sinks, around toilets and near appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines. As you happen to be in that area of your home, check out the potential leak spots but make sure to check most areas out at least every few months if possible. Don’t forget to inspect plumbing fixtures for signs of wear and tear too and monitor water usage for any unusual increases in your water bill.
2. Be prepared
Emergency preparedness is part of the plan. Teach everyone living in your home how to find potential water leaks and what to do when they happen. For example, everyone should know where the main water shutoff valve is located. Also, explain how early detection can minimize damage and repair costs while also ensuring the health and safety of family members, friends and pets.
3. Be smart
Start to identify strategic locations for water leak detector placement. Along with high-risk locations, such as bathrooms and kitchens, consider locations with other water-using appliances. For example, some specific locations might be behind a toilet or under a kitchen sink. Because the detectors are easy to install, simply place them anywhere you are worried about leaks. Research the best ones for that area of your home. Consider factors such as device range, connectivity and sensitivity. Use smart water leak detectors that can alert you to the presence of water in high-risk areas.
For the ultimate automatic protection, install devices like Moen’s Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff that can provide real-time notifications of leaks and take immediate action to help prevent them. Partner leak detectors with monitors that have shutoffs in areas of concern for added protection.
Why you should consider smart water leak detection technology
Smart technology can help you prevent costly damage to your property and belongings by detecting leaks early. Smart devices also can help you avoid a costly water bill and protect your home’s value.
Traditional methods of water detection often rely on manual inspections or basic alarms. Smart technology takes it a step or two further. It offers proactive monitoring and instant notifications 24/7, with higher accuracy and reliability in detecting leaks early. Once alerted you can quickly dismiss or address the problem. Oftentimes, depending on the device, the system can automatically shut off your water for you.
Other advantages to using smart leak technology are that you will receive real-time alerts and can use remote app monitoring to check the status or shut off your water if needed when you are away. These devices are also smart enough to integrate with other devices, such as connecting leak detectors to water monitors and shutoff systems, for a full smart water leak detection strategy.
How to detect a water leak in a house and pick what’s best for you
The sophistication of your water leak detection plan is a personal choice.
It all depends on your specific needs and desired outcomes. Overall, you have three levels of protection to choose from.
1. Leak Detectors
Leaks from pipes, appliances and the weather can happen anywhere in your home and Smart Leak Detectors can sense moisture quickly to help prevent damage. These detectors detect water that is where it shouldn’t be and send a real-time alert to a phone or emit an audible alarm. Smart Leak Detectors are battery-powered, easy to install and come with a remote sensing disc for harder-to-reach areas like under sinks and behind toilets or under large appliances. Detectors, however, only go so far. They can alert but can’t shut down the water to prevent damage. This is where smart water shutoff systems can help limit or prevent water from wreaking havoc on your property and causing costly repairs.
There are several types of sensors, depending on the desired output of information.
- Conductivity: Typically consist of two or more metal prongs or electrodes. When leaked water touches the metal prongs, electricity starts flowing between them. The detector notices the activity and signals there’s a possible leak.
- Humidity: These sensors don’t require physical contact with a liquid, but they detect changes in moisture levels in the surrounding air. If there’s a leak, the humidity typically increases in that area and the sensor picks up on this change.
- Temperature: This approach uses thermistors or thermocouples to track sudden changes in temperature.
2. Water Monitors
These monitors track water usage and can alert you if water is running when it shouldn’t be. However, because these monitors can’t shut off automatically someone needs to be home to address the concern. Monitoring sensors typically use mechanical turbines or ultrasonic wavelengths to monitor the water flow (or pressure) in the pipes. The detector, either strapped onto the main water supply line or plumbed directly into it, continuously analyzes the water usage patterns. If something seems off, such as an increase in usage, the detector will react. The science of sound is finding its way into leak detection, where acoustic sensors are used to listen for the distant sounds of water escaping from pipes. In addition, thermal imaging cameras can help “see” where silent leaks might occur.
3. Water Monitor with Shutoff
Once a sensor detects a leak, whether a detector or monitor, it will sound an audible alarm that beeps every few seconds and may display a flashing LED light. However, more modern models use technology to connect to the home’s Wi-Fi network to ping notifications to your smartphone within seconds of detecting a possible leak. The alert is an app notification, phone call, email or text. This way, you are notified instantly about any leak wherever you are – at home, at work or even on an international vacation. There are two types of smart shutoff systems: professionally installed units that are spliced into the home’s main water supply, and DIY systems that sit on the quarter-turn valve on the water line and use an electric motor to open and close the valve automatically if a leak is detected. The Flo Shutoff is an innovative device that is installed directly on the main water line to provide the most precise monitoring possible, plus the power to shut off the home’s water, if needed.
Putting the plan into action
Now that you have outlined your home’s personalized plan and have selected the type of water leak detection system that suits your needs, put the plan into action. Consider that a personalized plan will need to be evaluated and re-evaluated as time passes. What’s working well? What isn’t? Have we added a new appliance? Discarded an old one? Plus, new technology continues to advance the world of water leak detection. A plan not in use is only as good as the paper on which it’s printed. Learn more about the cost-effectiveness and insurance benefits smart technology offers in “Your Plan in Action.”
As we know, a broad and generic approach doesn’t cut it when it comes to preventing water damage. Every home has unique vulnerabilities. Customized strategies that include smart sensors empower homeowners to safeguard their property at the next level.
