MoneyFail #7 – Protect Your Home With Water Sensor

A few years ago, my house suffered extensive water damage in the basement when my hose bib blew off of its piping. The water poured onto the floor of my basement for more than 48 hours before I was able to come home and shut the water off. Total damages exceeded $7,000 where I had to pay $1,000 out of my own pocket. Although my homeowner insurance covered most of the costs, it did make a big unexpected dent in my savings account. The hose bib broke off due to constant freezing and unfreezing of water inside the pipe during the cold winter season. I now make sure that I turn the water off to the hose bib prior to the freezing season.

On top of that, I purchased a few of water leak sensors from Home Depot for $10 each. When it detects water, it beeps with a constant loud noise that is more annoying than your most hated alarm clocks. But its function serves one purpose: To detect water.

Don’t be dumb and careless taking care of your home. It takes a lot of work and effort to ensure everything in your home is running properly, but it could cost you a lot of money after one mishap. Many new homeowners aren’t aware of the additional costs of owning a home on top of the mortgage payments.

I placed these water leak sensors in three locations: in the basement next to the sump pump; in the laundry room; and in the mechanical room next to the water heater. All three locations are prime locations where water damage can occur. These sensors will alert me as soon as one of these appliances bail on me.

This is the latest edition of our new series called MoneyFail.

photo: water alarm by sump pump, charles

Note: This post was picked up by Consumerist.

Tagged as: flooded basement, moneyfail