this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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Water sensor alarms.
If you have any doubts about the pipes in your house or have a feeling that water might enter your basement, sensors will help you sleep at night.
Water damage to your home is no joke. I know two separate homeowners who have had leaks from their refrigerator's plumbing (water and ice dispenser). The damage for each homeowner was quite extensive given how small the leak was.
I second this!
Most people who have heard of water sensors know of the moen one. I'm in Canada, and my plumber recommended a Canadian company, Sinope. They were much less expensive and had a sensor in the line and ones you could put in and around appliances that use water.
The in-line flow sensor shuts off the water if it senses abnormal flow anywhere. But the physical sensors shut off the water when it's leaking at that spot.
We've had no leaks, but the flow sensor shut off the water when I filled the kiddie pool and forgot to turn it off. It also cuts short, excessively long showers (that can be turned off).
The safety net is fantastic to have. We can install that freezer ice cube maker without a worry.
I went to go check out Sinope's site, and it was already in my browser history. I wonder what past me was looking up...lol
Besides that, the smart valves are so much cheape than Moen! I might have to actually get one now. The ever looming threat of potential water damage stresses me out way too much.
The math we did was that the price was lower than an insurance deductible, and future rate hikes because of that. We also told our insurance company about it, and they said it reduced our home insurance cost. We halved our home insurance cost between the sinope, alarm system, pipe replacement, and changing providers.
For the sinope, you must consider installation cost if you want a plumber to do it. That probably adds hundreds.
I actually didn't even think about the insurance deductible. You're right that, even with installation, it would be less than that. Thanks for the info!
Home owners insurance or renters insurance should cover that, right?
In one case, it was under warranty but heavily disputed and it took a lot of posturing to get the work done.
In the other case, insurance took care of it, but flooring that would have been covered by insurance would not match the rest of the area, so the owners decided to renovate a lot more than they wanted to.
To me, the pain of having to live through the repairs/renovations is enough to make me vigilant of water leak issues.
That's fair. I rent and I kind of enjoy renting to avoid those pains. The water tank floods the place? Well, that sucks but legally the landlord has to put me in a livable place with running hot water, an oven, and enough beds for everyone on the lease. It's the one sole benefit of renting that makes me cautious about buying a house. Any house older than 1980 is probably going to have something that is a pain with it. I'm renting a house now that was built in the 50s and the electricity is outdated, the plumbing has a slow leak into the basement, and the foundation has some major cracks in it that let water flood the basement in the winter. We've clearly documented all these things and are just going to move out next lease end. So glad I'm not buying this place. I'd probably have to spend 100k just to get it to a stable house.
Seriously, these are a lifesaver! I add a couple to every housewarming gift. Some models can even email/txt you when they trip so you can have peace of mind when on vacation.
Yes, indeed! I have an automatic sump pump in my basement, so that covers heavy rain and potential burst pipes. But my cousin had pipes freeze and burst while he was away for Christmas. Even though he had insurance, the repairs took months.
Yup. They're super cheap and awesome on the rare occasion they go off. If you place them right, you'll even be alerted to tiny leaks like a slow drip from the toilet supply.