Tips to Avoid a Flood in Your Home

Tips to Avoid a Flood in Your Home

If you are facing flood damage then the first thing to do is call a company that provides emergency cleaning services in Montreal so that immediate steps can be taken to stop any potential water damage. Emergency cleaning service providers offer after disaster cleaning and will take prompt action to dry everything as quickly as possible.  This will ensure that your belongings are not damaged, and will help avoid problems such as structural damage and mold growth that commonly occur when water stagnates for a long duration.

A company offering emergency cleaning in Montreal will ensure normalcy is restored to your home within the shortest period of time. However, you will have to properly search for a company that has the required experience and training to perform such tasks.

Moreover, flooding emergencies can easily spoil your weekend, whether it is due to a burst pipe or a weather event. Water can result in lot of damage and oftentimes it is very difficult to prevent even when the necessary precautions are taken such as the installation of a sump pump, wrapping of pipes in winter months, and similar other measures.

However, it is possible now to prevent these water emergencies by utilizing smart home equipment and gadgets. Let us go through the details here.

The Use of Smart Home Technology for Preventing Flooding

Smart Sensors

Water sensors can be installed at strategic locations in your house. The good thing about them is that they are able to wirelessly connect to the main hub and an alert can be sent to your mobile phone or any other device using an associated app.

A few of the places where sensors can be added include between the washer-dryer, below toilets, in basements, and other locations where water leaks can occur. In case a moisture or water leak is detected then sensors send an alert signal to the hub and the notification is sent to you within a few seconds.

Multiple Sensors: Many of these have 2 sensors, one that is present in the body of the sensor itself and the other at the end of the probe so that leaks can be detected at different places. In addition, most of these sensors run on batteries and last for more than 3 years before you need to worry about changing the batteries.

Apart from sending a smart phone alert and an audible alarm, these smart sensors can easily integrate with the smart home system you have installed at your home.

Temperature Sensors: Nowadays, smart sensors available are equipped with temperature sensors that display changes in temperature or water detection by way of color change.

These sensor alarms also trigger when the sensor tilts or attempts are made to tamper it. You will find many sensors that float as well, which proves to be a useful feature when a leak transforms into flooding.

Detection of Multiple Leaks: Many of the sensors are capable of detecting multiple types of leaks, for instance, burst pipe leaks, frozen pipe leaks, pin hole leaks, and drip leaks.

This level of detection is achieved by the measurements taken by pressure sensors and ultrasonic flow meters which keep listening to water sounds. The measurements are then analyzed for the identification of leaks.

These smart sensors utilize user prompts to learn more about the plumbing system and start adjusting accordingly. For example, if the alarm was due to a hose running in your backyard then the smart sensor will keep note of it and will not release a false alarm.

Smart Water Valves

The main feature of these smart water valves is that they are capable of working together with water sensors. As soon as a water leak is noticed, the smart sensor notifies you as well as sends a signal to the smart water valve so that it can shut down the water flow right at the source.

This way it becomes possible to prevent the flooding of your home. Many of these smart valves also have moisture sensors that can be placed strategically under pipes. In the case of a burst pipe, the smart valve immediately closes off the water supply.

Easy Installation Valves: If you are worried about your pipes being cut for the installation of a smart valve, you will find it interesting to know that there are valves available which can be installed without the need to cut any pipes.

These innovative devices clamp onto the pipes and a motor is used for turning the handle off or on. This turns out to be a very simple solution and you will not need the services of a plumber to do the installation.

Smart Appliances

Nowadays smart appliances are available with features such as integrated water protection so that you can prevent flooding in your home. For instance, built-in leak detection and shut off is available for smart water heaters which can help you avoid the problem of flooding in your home.

Smart Cameras

Smart cameras that work on Wi-Fi can be accessed remotely and prove to be quite helpful in improving the safety net of your home.

A smart camera installed in a living area or kitchen can help you easily differentiate between flooding caused by a broken pipe and a puddle of water forming due to an ice cube.

Water Pressure Gauges

The main reason behind burst pipes and leaks is the water pressure being too high. You need to be aware of the fact that pipes, hoses, and water lines tend to crack when under pressure and result in the flooding in your home.

To avoid such a situation what you can do is purchase a device that is known as a water pressure gauge. You will have to attach this gauge to one of your faucets and let the water pass in full force to get the reading of water pressure in your home.

In the case where pounds per square inch (PSI) is a lot higher compared to what is recommended then what you will have to do is set up a valve for reducing the pressure. By taking these two steps you will be able to significantly reduce the incidence of burst pipes and flooding in your home.

To summarize we will say that flooding in your home, whether it is due to a natural calamity such as floods and storms or because of burst or frozen pipes can cause a lot of destruction in your home. Your valuable belongings can be damaged, structural integrity of your home will be affected, and you will have to face other associated problems such as mold growth if water damage remediation is not carried out quickly.

The benefits of smart sensors are that they will alert you even when you are sleeping or not at home. This way it becomes easier for you to take prompt actions and stop water damage before it gets out of hand.

In the case that flooding is due to problems such as burst pipes, smart devices such as smart valves can easily shut off the water flow inside the home or to a specific device such as a washing machine and avoid basement flood cleanup.