Prevent Water Damage With A Water Leak Detection System

Just as important as repairing a water damaged house after a flood or other type of water damage is taking steps to prevent the damage in the first place. One of the sources of a high proportion of cases of water damage comes from water pipes that have failed. It is possible to detect and prevent water damage from occurring.

It’s possible that a burst water pipe can go undetected for a long time, leaking hundreds of gallons of water and flooding the floor of the home. An automatic shutoff valve will prevent untold water damage due to a failure in the plumbing. By automatically cutting off the water flow when a leak is detected they can prevent flooding.

You can get two types of water leak detection devices. The first is one that you install near the source of the water to the entire house at the service valve. The second is a water leak detector that is installed on the line directly to the appliance.

In both cases the device uses a sensor to detect the presence of a leak. The sensors can be an integral component of the plumbing that can be either wired in to the shutoff valve directly or via a wireless connection. The sensor might be placed on the ground near the base of the appliance where it is most likely a leak will occur. One of these devices can be used to prevent damage from a water heater leak.

Water leak detection systems are available that have two vastly different reactions after a leak is detected. The first is what might be termed an active leak detector and the second as a passive leak detector.

The active leak detector will activate a shut off valve that will immediately turn the water off to ensure the leak is stopped. The passive leak detector will simply sound an alarm to alert you to the fact that a leak has been found. The passive leak detector loses its effectiveness if no-one is home to hear the alarm, meanwhile the water will continue to flow onto the floor of your house.

The leak, if and when it comes, is not necessarily going to play nice and occur out in the open where you can easily spot it and have the access to stop it immediately. Water pipes are also laid underground and are prone to corroding and failing, spilling water straight into the earth and potentially washing away the soil making the ground particularly unstable. You can get a water leak detector that can listen for the distinctive sound of water escaping from a pipe under pressure.

The ideal situation is to have your water leak detector installed on the main water supply line with sensors mounted at all of the vulnerable points where a leak is likely to occur.

The benefits that you will get from installing a water leak detection system is that the risk of water damage to the house is greatly reduced, you may be eligible for a reduction on your insurance premiums and you will have the peace of mind in knowing that your home and valuables are protected.