I have heard very varied opinions on these water detection systems, particularly the type that triggers a valve to shut off the water supply to the whole house, usually wirelessly, if a leak is detected. Reliable? Unreliable?

Can folks who've actually installed such alarm systems comment on their experiences and recommendations? TIA

I know the ones that simply trigger an audible alarm are popular with aquarium hobbyists to warn of leaks in the plumbing before things get bad. Thanks for the reminder. Hope things dry up nice and flat!

I second that warning (even though I didn't heed it myself ....hmmm). A year ago while my sister and her family were away on holidays, they had a slow internal leak that caused HUGE damage (read: they had to completely redo the kitchen). Not only was the cabintry ruined and the floor ruined, but the water also seeped to the lower floor, severeley damaging a finished rec room with electronic equipment etc etc.

Even though she really wanted a potfiller for the redo, my BIL said "no way" to any extra sources of water!

I would also be curious about these systems.

Eliz

Here are some options. I think I will go with the Home Depot option and upgrade in the future....

Water Alarm:
http://www.thewateralarm.com/

Safe Home Products:
https://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2/product/floodstop-fs3/8-cd-sink-water-alarm-valve-shut-off/appliance-water-shut-offs-and-washer-hoses/alarm-floodstop-automatic/1569/1569.aspx

Water Leak Detection:
https://ssl.biggiweb.com/valuetesters/Mannix-WA500-Water-Alarm-Plumbing-Leak-Detection.php

Flood Detector Water Alarm:
http://www.preventsecurity.com/productdetails.asp?c=25&sub=-1&p=2253

Here is a link that might be useful: Home Depot Basement Watchdog

One reason we don't want a water dispenser or icemaker in our refrigerator.

My icemaker line was found leaking when the floor guy took up all the layers of floor to repair other water damage. I live in a dry climiate and my sub-floor looked like potting soil. I didn't have the icemaker hooked up anyway so the next thing on the list was get the plumber out there and have him crawl all the way under the house and get rid of that water line. I can always make my own ice.

kitchenredo2 - Thanks for posting so many options, plus the one at Home Depot. I've been looking into these since my 2nd story washer leaked (came new with a sliced drain hose). I have found tons of options online, but nothing at Lowes, HD and Menards. Your link shows that they actually do carry them at my local HD. I will definitely buy one for my dryer pan and try it out. Where would you all put them in your kitchen - under the sink, near the frig? I asked my plumber and several Sears repair tech's if they could recommend any of the brands, but no one was actually aware of the differences or had worked with one. Love to hear from anyone who's used one.

Hopefully they've gotten better. I did some research on them back in late-2007 and the most common complaint was the number of false alarms...

Has anyone who has one experienced a lot of false alarms?

Sorry to hear about your flood.

I read on here awhile ago about "flood Stop" seems gwers were recommending this product but I have no personal experience with it. Maybe someone could share their personal experience with "flood stop"..

We use those battery powered water/leak alarms...good if we're at home. We also turn the main water supply off when we leave the house for more than a few days. We learned our lesson when one of the toilets leaked for 2 weeks and we had a water bill of $300. Fortunately the leak was inside the toilet and didn't ruin the floor or other more costly things.

We have some that sound an alarm & shut off the main water supply when tripped. We placed them behind toilets/sinks & near the water line for ice maker. Only the bathroom ones have tripped when I was cleaning the floor & got just a touch of water on them. I feel much safer with them - especially in a two story house.