Whether it has happened to you in your own home, or you have just heard horror stories of home floods, everyone knows how awful they can be. It’s not just heavy rain that can cause floods in your home. Pipes can freeze and burst, causing a dreadful water emergency. The reason why home flood stories are so dreaded is because of how unpredictable and costly they can be. The good thing is, they are not entirely unavoidable. Wrapping pipes in winter months, if you live in cold weather, can prevent floods in your home, and so can shut off the valve when you leave town. While these precautions do help, sometimes you need to take more drastic preventative measures. Nowadays, we have many smart home devices to aid in our ability to prevent floods.

Smart Water Sensors

A great innovation in smart home technology is smart water sensors that are placed throughout your home. These devices have been available for about two or three years, but they are starting to gain more popularity due to rough hurricane seasons. Homeowners are looking for new ways to protect their homes from flooding, and these strategically placed sensors are great for that. Water sensors run on batteries and then connect wirelessly to a central location in your home. Homeowners are alerted within seconds when a sensor detects a leak. Common areas that experience leaks are bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and basements. As soon as the sensor pick up a leak, it sends a signal to the central hub in your home, then alerts you on your smartphone in seconds.

Upgrade to Smart Appliances

Are you in the market for a new appliance or two? Investing in smart kitchen appliances and water heaters can help prevent flooding in your home. Smart kitchen appliances and smart water heaters have auto shut off features that will shut off if a leak is detected.

Install A Smart Water Valve

A similar concept to smart appliances, smart water valves also works with water sensors. These smart water valves also have auto shut off features, but they can shut the water off at its source, rather than just detecting leaks. Smart water valves will need to be installed by a professional, but they bring peace of mind to homeowners knowing they are better protected against floods.

Keep An Eye Out

All of these smart devices are great for helping to prevent floods, but nothing beats the eye test. Obviously we can’t be in every room all the time, so this is where Wi-Fi cameras come into play. Put these cameras in your kitchen, basement, living room, and so on. It is important to be able to tell the difference between a busted pipe, a catastrophic flood, or just a melted ice cube on the kitchen floor.

Protect Yourself With Emergency Kits

While these four tips will help you prevent flooding in your home, nothing we can do will prevent the weather going on outside. Sometimes you will get caught in a flood with nowhere to go. Are you prepared for this emergency? If not, check out these high-quality home emergency kits from More Prepared. They have a shelf life of five years and will sustain you and your family for a minimum of 72 hours.