I think there’s a water leak behind the wall.
Admit it; you panicked a little bit when you read that. Like the start of a cheesy Hollywood horror film, where the threatening calls are coming from inside the house.
Most of our plumbing systems have many components and fixtures visible to us all the time. Our faucets, showerheads, toilets, outdoor spigots, hose bibs, laundry connections, and other fixtures that we can see will often show obvious signs of a leak.
The problem with most water leaks is that they occur in areas that are not in plain sight. These sneakiest of leaks lurk behind the walls, underneath your sinks, water heaters in the attic, supply pipes in crawl spaces, in ceilings, virtually any place you find a plumbing pipe, there is the potential for a significant leak.
Catastrophic Water Leaks Can Wash Away Your Bank Account.
Having to perform repair work after a major water leak is an expensive undertaking, often with the repair cost far exceeding the cost of repairing the original leak. Water leaks that occur in walls or ceilings can remain hidden for long periods while doing damage to drywall, insulation, and even structural support beams. Imagine spending tens of thousands of dollars to remediate water damage caused by a $15 dishwasher hose. You’d have every right to be angry. I’d worry about you if you weren’t mad.
Every single year, the number-one claim against homeowner’s insurance policies is water damage caused by leaks. For readers who enjoy scary statistics, catastrophic water damage is seven times more likely to occur in your home than fires or thefts. Now, all of us have smoke detectors in our homes, and I’m willing to bet that most of us have some type of alarm system to protect from break-ins, but no one has a way to alert us to water leaks.
Of these insurance claims for water damage, the reason for most of them are short-term, but still catastrophic events like a ruptured water heater tank or broken water supply line. Pressurized water supply lines can spill 20 gallons or more into your home every minute, or 1,200 gallons per hour. A trip to the grocery store can be a couple of hours, with travel times, evenings out for dinner, and a movie can leave your home unattended for several hours.
The most frustrating thing about major water leak events, aside from the damage they cause, and the money it costs to repair them, is the inability to stop them when no one is home.
In 2015, a startup company called Flo Technologies was formed to solve the problem of catastrophic water leaks occurring when no one is home to intervene and shut off the water. The result debuted at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, and the product was invested heavily by the Moen Corporation. The ensuing partnership allowed the two companies to introduce a complete system to control the water flow in your home remotely.
Meet the FLO® by Moen Leak Detection System.
While there have been many recent advances in the residential plumbing industry, few have been as innovative as the FLO® by Moen Water Leak Detection System. You can now monitor your entire plumbing system for leaks, excessive water usage, and even learn how much water your family uses daily.
And when things go wrong, Flo® by Moen can even shut off the water to your home before you even know you had a leak.
The FLO® by Moen Water Leak Detection System is so technologically impressive; you may overlook the fact that it’s the first real-world solution to the threat of catastrophic water leaks in your home. In addition to monitoring your plumbing system for damaging leaks 24-hours a day, the FLO® by Moen Water Leak Detection System uses two proprietary software programs, along with physical water leak detectors, to perform tests and collect data about the amount of water being used in your home. Once the system has learned your daily water use patterns, this data is then interpreted,
real-time view of your family’s usage down to the individual faucet.
The Flo® by Moen Smart Water Shutoff Valve
The system starts with the Flo® by Moen Smart Water Shutoff Valve. This small plastic box installs in-line where your main water supply enters your home, with sizing available for either ¾” or 1 ¼” supply pipes. Once installed, the Flo® by Moen Smart Water Shutoff Valve uses its FloSense™ technology to “learn” how much water your home is supposed to be using daily and what times of day the usage is at its peak or ebb. The unit contains an on-board computer, a Wi-Fi client, and an electronically controlled valve that can turn the water supply to your entire home off if a major leak is detected.
This “smart valve” continues to monitor the overall water pressure throughout the home, taking notes and running the system self-checks each night, until it can detect a water leak as small as one drip per minute. If any unusual or drastic water loss occurs or goes on longer than a regular washing machine cycle, the Flo® by Moen Smart Water Shutoff Valve will automatically cut off the house’s water supply.
Flo® by Moen Uses Artificial Intelligence to Protect Your Home.
Flo® is no dummy! As soon as the automatic shut-off valve is installed, Flo®, using a proprietary artificial intelligence product called FloSense™, begins to “learn” the water use patterns in your home. The Flo(R) by Moen App generates warnings when excessive water flow is detected and allows for remote shut-off of your water supply. When used in conjunction with the Flo® by Moen App to provide feedback on your water usage, Flo® can provide real-time status updates and perform daily “health checks” of your plumbing system.
As your system is being installed, you can download the Flo® by Moen to your tablet or smartphone and enter the necessary information it needs, like how many bathrooms you have and how many people are in your household. Once your smart valve is connected and powered up, you’ll be able to start tracking overall water usage, set goals for consumption, and get alerts to potential plumbing issues immediately.
Once the FLO® by Moen Water Leak Detection System has some time to learn your daily usage, generally 30 days, the Flo® by Moen App will be able to display usage down the individual fixture or appliance.
- Want to know how much water your dishwasher uses? The info is in the app.
- How long did your shower last, and how much hot water went down the drain? That’s in the app, too.
- Want to control your Flo® by Moen Water Leak Detection System with Alexa or Google Assistant? Yep. The app again!
Flo® By Moen App Features at Glance
- Dashboard: See how much water you are consuming with daily trends and set goals to save water and money.
- Control Panel: Monitor your home’s plumbing health, such as flow rate, pressure, and temperature.
- Alerts: See all pending warnings and troubleshoot plumbing issues in real-time, putting you in control.
- Health Tests: The system runs daily Health Tests, turning off the water supply and locking pressure in your pipes to catch even pinhole leaks.
- Usage by Fixture: See water usage by fixture and appliance, track historical consumption, and set goals.
- Smart Water Assistant: Unlock 5-star plumbing assistance with a real-time chat when you sign up for a FloProtect Plan.
Flo® by Moen Smart Water Detectors
You can complete your Flo® by Moen Water Leak Detection System with the addition of any number of individual Smart Water Detectors placed anywhere in the home where leaks are likely to occur. The Smart Water Detector looks like a small smoke detector in the creative shape of a water droplet. Get it? It’s about water!
These detectors do their best work beneath sinks in vanity cabinets, on the floor next to a water heater, and behind refrigerators where hidden leaks can occur and go unnoticed for days. When a Flo® by Moen Smart Water Detector senses the presence of water, it sends a signal to the Smart Water Shutoff Valve to turn itself off, preventing any more water from getting into your home.
Place a Smart Water Detector in your bathrooms near toilets, and in laundry rooms under your washing machine, or anywhere that is vulnerable to water damage from a leak. Flo® by Moen Smart Water Detectors extend the system’s shut-off power by allowing you to monitor for the possible appliance, water heater, or drainpipe failures that would not be sensed by the automatic shut-off valve alone.
Does a Water Leak Detection System Sound Right for Your Home?
To bring your home straight into twenty-first-century convenience and get the ultimate in plumbing safety technology, give Nick’s Plumbing and Air Conditioning a call today. Ask us about the Flo® by Moen Water Leak Detection System and be able to leave your home each day without worrying about extensive water damage from undetected leaks.
Call us today. We’re on the way.
