Water is humanity’s frenemy. Sure, the stuff is necessary for life and it’s fun to go swimming in, but water is also tirelessly seeking to destroy your property. When you think of the threat that water poses to your existence you might think of drowning and hurricanes, but in many cases the real threat is coming from inside the house; water damage makes up almost a quarter of all insurance claims in the U.S., causing an average of $12,514 in damage.
And that’s if your insurance covers it—most policies only cover water damage caused by sudden emergencies, like a burst pipe. They won’t cover storm-driven water damage, and they won’t cover damage done by a slow, methodical leak.
Those slow leaks can do just as much damage as a flood, eating away at the hidden areas of your home; by the time the leak becomes obvious it’s too late to do anything except rip everything out and replace it. The best way to defend your home from this kind of sneaky (and hella expensive) water damage is leak detectors. And when it comes to leak detectors, the rule of thumb is “the more the merrier.”
Leak detectors
Leak detectors are simple but effective—detecting moisture and triggering an alarm. You can buy dumb ones that simply make a lot of noise when they touch water, or you can buy smart ones that sound an alarm and alert you via text, email, or a connected app. You can also pair many smart leak detectors with automatic shutoff valves that will turn off the water supply when a leak is detected.
These devices can save you a lot of money and trouble because they alert you the moment water appears where it shouldn’t so you can turn off the water and immediately take steps to reduce the damage. That’s incredibly important—but just as important is where to place those leak detectors, because they can’t help you if they’re not in the right places. And you need them in more locations than you think.
Where to place leak detectors
Water leaks can happen in a lot more areas of your home than you might initially think:
Water heater. One of the most common sources of water leaks in the home is a traditional tank-type water heater. These appliances typically last about a decade, and when they fail they often leak. Since they continuously refill, that leak can do damage for weeks or even months before it’s noticed.
Crawlspace/basement. The spaces under your house are often ignored for long periods (especially if they’re unfinished), so water infiltration from appliances or groundwater can go on for a long time before it’s noticed. Leak detectors placed strategically around crawlspaces or basements—near drains and sump pits especially—can alert you immediately if water is building up under your home.
Garage. Failing weather stripping and incorrect grading can lead to regular floods in your garage, which can erode your floor and damage your stuff.
Toilets. Slow leaks from faulty water lines or imperfect seals at the flange can sip water into your floors, rotting wood and destroying tile or other flooring materials. This can go on for a long time in guest or basement bathrooms that don’t get used much.
Under sinks. Every sink in your home is a potential water damage hotspot. A leaking drain or trap under the sink can rot out cabinets and potentially damage floors and walls as well.
Dishwasher. A sensor under the dishwasher will alert you the moment your dishwasher starts to leak, as opposed to months later when the damage starts to spread throughout your kitchen floor.
Refrigerator. If your refrigerator has a water line and/or an ice maker, it could start leaking water at any time. Aging refrigerators can also cause water damage if the defrost drain becomes clogged, and if your fridge stops working, the melt-off from the freezer can result in a small-scale flood that can do major damage to your floors.
Laundry. There are a lot of ways your washing machine can silently betray you. If it’s an older model, it can rust and leak every time it runs. The hose connection to the water supply can fail and start to leak, or the drain pipe can become clogged and overflow. Since laundry facilities are often installed in tight spaces, the problem may not be visually obvious for some time.
Roof. All roofs eventually fail, and many roof leaks start off as subtle, gradual problems that rot the decking. Placing leak detectors in attics or inside the ceilings of rooms directly under the roof can give you a little early warning that your roof has stopped roofing.
Boiler/Radiators. If you have a hot water heating system that employs a boiler and radiators, you have water moving through the walls of your home all the time—and leaks can occur at any point along the system. A leak detector under your boiler and near each radiator can help warn you the moment a problem begins.
Fish tanks. An enormous container of standing water in your home? Better to know that a tank has cracked or that your cat has gone fishing and knocked it over immediately instead of several hours later.
HVAC. Air conditioning systems can leak for a variety of reasons. Clogged drain tubes can back up water into the house, so having a detector under the drip pan to detect overflows can save you a lot of headaches—and alert you that your AC system needs maintenance.
Water can get into your house in a lot of ways, and liberal use of leak detectors can provide just enough warning for you to avoid costly repairs. But they can only help if you deploy them—and enough of them.