You come home from the movies, kick off your shoes, walk into the kitchen and “squish”, wet socks. I hate wet socks but I hate wet kitchen subfloors even more. According to Travelers insurance , water is 10 times more likely to damage our home than fire. Ten times! We all have smoke alarms but how many of us have Water alarms?
What is a water alarm?
A water alarm works in a similar fashion to a smoke alarm. When a water alarm senses water it screeches, usually in a very high pitch which can be heard throughout the house. Small rectangular boxes, twice the thickness of a deck of cards sit on the floor or under your sinks. They are equipped with two metal sensors on the bottom which close an electrical circuit when they come in contact with water. Last year ours alerted us to water in our basement before it became a major issue. We heard it two floors away, in the dead of night.
At a relatively nominal cost of $10-$15 each, putting one under each sink and a few in your basement is a small cost to be alerted before you have thousands of dollars in damage. Amazon and other online retailers have a few styles to choose from. We choose the First Alert WA100-3 Water Alarm, 3-Pack
- We needed several and this saved some money.
- The sensors are detachable from the bottom of the unit so it offered more flexible placement.
- First Alert is a brand name I’m familiar with.
Here is what they look like.
To see other choices for water alarms, click here
