No matter how careful you are, one or more water alarms in your home can alert you to take action as soon as a leak starts. Thankfully, cheap alarm systems can provide a layer of insurance that minimizes the potential for water damage. They can help you avert long-term damage, including mold build-up, caused by leaks. But they’re not a substitute for the routine preventative maintenance your home needs. Here is what you need to know about wireless water alarms.
What Is a Water Alarm?
When we talk about water alarms, we are primarily talking about water leak sensors. These are tiny electronic devices that can be placed strategically in areas of your home to provide you with plenty of warning if the worst—flooding—were to occur. These detectors/alarms are usually placed behind the washing machine and under sinks, toilets, radiators, etc.—any infrastructural point that is likely to cause water damage.
Although you will find that most water alarms are plastic, this is more than sufficient to serve their waterproof purpose. After all, not all plastic is equal, so polymers used in the manufacturing of water leak detectors hold a higher grade of endurance. Needless to say, they have to be wireless to prevent contact of water with the electric grid. Instead, most of them rely on non-replaceable batteries.
Thankfully, water leak alarms are relatively cheap—usually under CAD$25—so it is still cost-effective to replace them. More expensive water alarms can be linked with your smartphone app so that you are immediately notified of any water issues happening no matter where you are.
What Are the Benefits of a Water Alarm?
Renters know very well how hard it is to find an affordable accommodation that doesn’t look like it has gone through a grinder. Many older homes hold the scars of water damage that occurred over the decades, which include:
- Warped floorboards
- Mouldy walls
- Ruined, crumpled up wallpaper
- Fried electric wiring, so some outlets randomly work
For under CAD$25, you can greatly mitigate the potential water damage that lowers the value of your home. Of course, water alarms are water detectors, not preventers. Nonetheless, there is a world of difference between half an hour of water leakage and an entire afternoon’s worth of damage while those living in the house are at work or school.
In short, water-sensing technology, especially one that can tap into your smartphone, provides an important safeguard against water damage. Those who have suffered through water damage are well aware of how time-consuming and costly it is to bring the home back to its former state.
Reasons to Invest in a Water Alarm
If you have a wooden floor or wooden cabinetry, especially surrounding your visible water installation, water leaks are devastating. Even smaller leaks often lead to a buildup of moulds and the unpleasant smells that accompany them. Few homeowners know that fire hazards are much rarer than water ones. Almost everyone has fire/smoke detectors, which is often required by law and insurance companies, but rarely do people think about water leak detectors.
With fires, even without a functioning smoke detector, neighbours and passersby can easily alert the authorities. With a water leakage, it takes ages for anyone to notice, at which point it is almost always too late to recover from the damage done. Nowadays, most alarm systems are available in a wireless, smart form that:
- Connects to Wi-Fi;
- Connects to a smart hub; and
- Offers different types of notifications.
From a burst pipe to an overflowing toilet, water alarms are so effective at mitigating the damage that they may even lower your home insurance costs. If you are a property manager, they are a no-brainer.
Moreover, water sensors represent an inexpensive way to ensure that neglected places are looked after. It is not very often that people look up their water installations, hidden out of sight. In conjunction with other products, such as rubberized, waterproof mats, water alarms work in unison to minimize water overflows.
How Does a Water Alarm Work?
There are two major components to water alarms: sensors and warning signals. When a liquid comes into contact with a sensor or multiple sensors, the alarm’s circuitry closes and activates the warning signal, which is usually some kind of blaring siren. Smart water alarms have an additional, third component—wireless interconnectivity—which makes them more expensive than localized water alarm detectors.
The most advanced water alarms even include warnings in the form of blinking lights, text messages, or emails. These are usually part of a larger smart home ecosystem that extends to remote lighting and temperature management.
Types of Water Alarms
Water overflowing alarms are divided into two broad categories: passive and active. With modern buildings, not only are active alarms integrated into the water piping system, but they also have the ability to automatically shut down the water supply when the sensor is triggered. This is why they are called active, posing an ideal solution.
On the other hand, passive alarms have the advantage of being easily placed after a new building’s construction or in older buildings. They are placed near appliances like washing machines or sinks that have direct access to water pipelines. As their name implies, passive alarms can only alert you instead of addressing the issue directly by shutting down the water supply. At that point, it is up to you to quickly respond to the alarm and shut it down.
Furthermore, it is wise to place a reminder in your calendar app for when the passive alarm’s battery is expected to expire. Even better, set the reminder a few months before the battery expiration date to make sure you are not counting on a powerless piece of plastic to protect you from water damage.
How to Choose a Water Alarm for Your Home
The most important factor to consider with water alarms is whether you want to be alerted only when you are at home or even when you are out and about. Opting for the latter will necessitate smart notification features, so they will cost more.
For such a comprehensive solution, leakSMART is often recommended due to the company’s 85-year positioning in the plumbing industry. With such a system, you create a smart hub of sensors that are connected to your smartphone and compatible with the NEST smart home system. Moreover, leakSMART is not just a simple alert system; it is an active water alarm that employs its motorized brass valves, which are connected to the main water valve, to shut down the water supply remotely.
You should think of it as the golden standard for water alarm features, as it:
- Offers instant notification of your choice, no matter where you are, as long as you have your phone with you;
- Is easily plugged into the wider NEST smart home system;
- Is capable of shutting down the main water supply remotely; and
- Has a range that can be extended as needed
These features have obvious benefits; thus, anything less is a compromise, depending on how much you are willing to spend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should water sensors be placed?
They should be placed near bathtubs, shower cabins, toilets, kitchen sinks, water heaters; under or behind washing machines; and even near refrigerators if they come with an ice maker feature. Such units can slowly drip from their back end, contributing to floor damage and mould growth. Moreover, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) units can cause leakage if you forget to drain the HVAC pan. Water sensors can serve as an effective reminder.
Does a water alarm result in an insurance discount?
Definitely check with your insurance carrier if that is the case. Many have different requirements for what constitutes a proper water security leakage system to earn yourself policy credits. You will find that most home insurance carriers require an active water alarm system to get a discount. This is the type that automatically shuts off the water supply when the sensor detects a leak.
