dpaul here. The plumbing gods have not been on my side lately. After hydrojetting and relining the sewer lateral pipes on our Sacramento home, we thought we were good. But then last month we had a leak in the kitchen that ruined our floors. Good times. (You may recall I recommended having your sewer laterals checked in my summer home tips, and I hope you did!)

Determining the source of a leak can be surprisingly tricky. We brought our plumber back, thinking it may have been related to the relining process, but there was no sign of moisture by the pipes. Then we thought maybe the dishwasher was leaking, but a simple test run ruled that out. They thought it might be a problem with inbound water flow, and connected us to a specialist for that. He was able to pressurize the lines, and quickly determined that was not the problem; if there were a leak, the pipes wouldn’t keep pressure. 

Ultimately, we discovered that one of the drawers in our freezer hadn’t shut properly, yet apparently not ajar enough to trigger the alarm. So, the ice maker was just pouring out water onto our laminate floor, which got waterlogged and buckled. 

So what can you do to protect yourself from leaks (other than making sure your freezer closes)? I did research on water leak detectors for your home, and it turns out there are a lot of variations.

Leak detectors work with sensors that are sensitive to changes in humidity and sometimes temperature, or in changes to water pressure. If the sensor is triggered, it may just send an alarm, or some can actually shut off the flow of water to stop the problem before it worsens. Some devices are battery operated, others plug in. And many connect to your smart home systems.

We’re an Apple household, so I ended up selecting the Eve Home leak detector. I liked that it plugged in (so I don’t have to worry about forgetting to change batteries), and it came with a 6 foot long cable detector (to which I am adding an 8 foot extension to so it covers the entire kitchen). I also like that it doesn’t share your information in any way (or so they say). Eve only works with the Apple Home system, but there are other options. 

Some insurance companies actually give a discount for having these devices in your home; check with your carrier to find out if they do, and which devices they support. I have USAA home insurance and they only offer a discount if you use their preferred vendor, Residio. Ultimately I decided not to go with Residio because they share the information with USAA. I share enough information out in the world without adding more. 

While the leak was disheartening, it does have a happy ending. It was contained wholly to our kitchen, so we don’t have to replace any flooring in the rest of the house. Since we were putting in new, we decided not to use the same laminate we had before, and instead went with a fun, colorful tile. I consider it an upgrade. Best of all, insurance is covering it all except for a modest deductible.