FloodStop Washing Machine Leak Detector Kit, 3/4" 90deg

I just installed this this weekend, and I must say I am very impressed. As some mentioned, the module itself is light, which some people have associated with cheaply made. At the end of the day, the module itself is a circuit board with buttons and needs room to hold the 4 C batteries. The valves themselves do have a plastic cover, but the valve and pipe feel solid and work extremely well. I probably had the whole thing installed within 30 minutes. (It doesn't come with plumbers' tape, so make sure you have some on hand.) It works spectacularly well. The water sensor is very sensitive with numerous trip points to cover a lot of ground. It can be daisy-chained with additional sensors if you like. The slightest bit of water trips the sensor, and the device immediately springs into action. The valves are close, and the alarm sounds. It will continue to beep periodically so that if you weren't home to hear the alarm go off, you'll know when you walk in. What I love is that the manufacturer also thought about expansion. The Floodstop has both normally open and normally closed outputs that can be used to signal other devices on alarm. With this I was able to tie it in with my home automation system so that when it detects water, it not only closes the valve shutting off the water supply, but signals my home automation system so it can kill power to the washer & dryer, as well as text me. Very well built, and highly recommended. My plumber saw the unit, and even he was impressed. I think he'll be ordering some to install for his other clients!

Great product. Like many others who have bought this item, we have our washing machine on the top floor of our house. We have an older machine that sounds like a SpaceX rocket about to take off every time we do laundry, so it always worried me that I might one day come home to see my house flooded and recreating that scene in Jumanji, with water flowing down the stairs and giant spiders attempting to kill a ten year old boy. I don't even have a son, which makes it that much more worrisome! In all seriousness, this product works well. Super easy to install. The pad is so sensitive that when I touched it with my bare hands, the moisture alone from my fingers set off the alarm and shut off the pipes. I was also profusely sweating at the time thinking about Jumanji, but that's beside the point. The alarm sounds intermittently until you manually re-open the pipes via the control panel, which is good to know in case it ever shuts off while we're away. Also, it has a battery backup system that runs off 4 AA batteries, which is great in case the power goes out. One thing to note: our washer/dryer area only had one plug (not a standard double outlet), so we had to get a multi-outlet adapter before installing. Just wanted to point that out because it was a pain to have to pull out the machines and set everything up, only to realize we were missing something crucial. Just wanted to give a heads up for everyone to avoid this problem, in case you were hiring a plumber or something to install it for you. Overall, excellent product. I made a note to check the system every 3 months or so and test the strips and mechanism. If I ever run into any issues, I'll update this review accordingly.

I just recently received and installed this product, so here are my preliminary impressions: 1) Overall function: works perfectly, tested repeatedly and looked inside to see valve closing/opening. Even a dash of moisture shuts the valves off - 5 stars 2) The valves are very well designed and sturdy, including the harness - 5 stars 3) The controller and connectors need strain relief. The buttons are finicky/sticky but work. Still, major redesign needed on the controller end, simply because this is a product that cannot afford to fail on being accidentally bumped, or wires snagged etc. - 2 stars 4) Installation was a breeze. I used different screws/anchors, because I had a different situation, but the included hardware should work for most. It installed in less than 20 minutes. I will however, at a later point, put wiremold wire tracks and organize the wires some more. This will also provide some more strain relief and prefent accidental snagging. Installation - 5 stars 5) Customer service: When I first installed the valves, one of them wasn't working. I emailed Scott at OnSitePro - he immediately sent me another valve, no questions asked. 5 stars. So, overall rating: 4 stars. Will update based on experience as I continue using. Additional comments: 1) Might be a good idea to install high up on the wall so you can't reach it (bump it) easily. 2) Organize the wires in straight lines, horizontal or vertical - use wiremold if you want. Alternatively, you can fish them inside walls as long as you don't have any high voltage in those wall cavities. The low voltage used in this device shouldn't cause any heating issues with in-wall use. Use zip ties or twist ties. Don't leave them hanging where they can get caught in things and pull off. Provide your own "strain relief" by making a loop with a (not too tight) twist-tie right before joints/connections. 3) I wanted to add the furman like others have, but my washer is a 220v machine, and I am still working on an equivalent solution for that. 4)As an added precaution, I am using floodchek hoses. *Update* Jan 10th 2015 This started beeping and shut the water off. I thought it was a false alarm, turned the valves back open but they wouldn't open, and kept alarming. This was at night, so I muted it and went to bed. Next morning, I checked, and sure enough, my washing machine pan had a tiny bit of water at the bottom. Turns out the gasket on the inlet hose (floodchek! didn't expect that!) for warm water had started leaking. Although this wasn't a major leak, and I would probably have noticed as more water pooled in the pan, it was a relief to see that it worked as it is supposed to. I tested both valves when I was fixing the gasket leaks and both were still working. Strain relief is still an issues, obviously. I have heard the new version solves this problem, but my washer and dryer are in such a tight closet that removing them to uninsall and reinstall the new one isn't worth the effort for me at this point while the old one is still working.

I have this on both washing machines in my house, one upstairs where I live and one downstairs in the rental apt. I originally put it on the upstairs one because I added w/d connections in a walk in closet in the spare bedroom. The house was not designed for the w/d in the closet, so there is no drain if there is a leak. I searched for solutions and this was it. I put a big drain pan under the washer and then installed this on the water outlets. It gives me peace of mind if there is a leak, it will shut off and not completely destroy the floors/ceiling on floor below. I added one to rental between renters to protect those floors as well. I recently steam cleaned the floor near the sensor and it set it right off.. I was glad to know with even just a little water, it did its job!

This is the system you want to get. The valves are solid brass, and basically a quarter-turn tap with a motor bolted on (not a solenoid as most valves). This is important because they close quite slowly (~2 seconds), enough so a water hammer arrestor isn’t needed specifically for them (water hammer arresters should be as close to the washing machine as possible; I put mine directly on the back of the washer). I tested it and didn’t get any ‘clang’ in the pipes when FloodStop closed, with the machine pulling water. You can add additional water detector strips and daisy chain them if you want to monitor several areas at once, and you can also connect a relay (e.g. Furman), that will automatically disconnect the washer from the power supply. The relay is clunky so I didn’t bother. I think it’s a little on the pricey side for what it is honestly (the valves look well-engineered, but the electronic module looks a little toylike and cheap; it’s not an eyesore, but it’s a bit of a missed opportunity to make the purchase feel worth the price, I think). I would have been comfortable with a $50-150 range as a price. But there is nothing else that comes close (everything else I look at looked gimmicky or clunky), and clearly this was well thought-out engineering-wise. So fine, take my money. And yes, it’s always going to be cheaper than a flood. Overall, I couldn’t be happier with my purchase. We have a washer on the second floor, and that potential risk was flagged during the inspection. Took all of 5mn to install for peace of mind. I am also going to replace my water hoses.

This product works great. I have had it for three months now in a home with six children, so the washing machine sees daily use. It was very easy to install. I just had to screw it into the existing water supply and plug the wires in. It only took 5-10 minutes to get it all set up. It did not leak at all around the fittings where it screwed into the supply or the hoses going to the machine. The water sensor is very sensitive, which I view as a good thing - that's why I got it. The sensor did trip a few times when the humidity got too high in the laundry room, especially under the washing machine. I simply wrapped the sensor in paper as suggested in the instructions and it has resolved any sensitivity problems. I now don't have to worry about my washing machine overflowing, which had happened a couple of times previously when it was not clicked into a load size properly (which I would suggest is a design flaw of the washing machine). I am very happy with the product, and would recommend it to any homeowner. I don't know why anyone would want to go without it.

Update: My Floodstop units have been in use for over six years now. They still work just fine. I previously installed a Floodstop single-valve system for my dishwasher. It's been in use for over six months without any problems. When I remodeled my laundry room, I decided to install this dual-valve system for my washing machine. This system has two motorized valves (one for cold water, and one for hot). A single sensor sits on the floor near the washer (if you need to cover a larger area, you can purchase additional sensors, and daisy chain them together). It only takes a drop of water to set the system off and close the valves. It's not hard to install. The unit uses AC power (includes an AC adapter), but also works on four (4) AA batteries (not included), to assure that the system works even if the power fails. A red light and a beeping sound let you know that the system has been activated. Floodstop also sells an optional phone dialer for this system (it calls you to let you know that it went off). To keep the valves from sticking due to mineral buildup, the system automatically opens and closes the valves once a month (you can also open and close the valves yourself for testing). So far, I haven't had any problems. It's nice to know that if there's a ruptured hose or a water leak somewhere, nothing's going to get flooded.

Although I am actually reasonably happy with the eventual product here's what I hated. The first time I purchased this device I realized it needed a plumber to install - so install was delayed until I could schedule time off work and align that with plumber availability. Then hen the plumber tried to install it it turned out that there was a problem with the device - the controller was bad. BUT the 0 day period had expired and I thought to myself - I'll just order another and then return the original. But then the second one arrive sand the same issue came up - there was a snowstorm so my install got delayed and in the new package the plug mechanism didn't work. So now I own two of these very expensive devices, do finally have one cobbled functioning one installed, and have a nearly $200 doorstop that I am unclear how to return (since it was defective - and had I NOT kept the first one the second would ALSO not have worked). I'd appreciate the seller contacting me to resolve this so I can change my 1 star to a 5.

Nothing like closing the barn door after the horses got out! I found this product after the hookup hose for my washing machine in our main floor laundry room ruptured. Yup! One hell of a mess including the ceilings in the basement. Over $20,000 in damage. Although this product is expensive it only has to prevent what happened to me to more than pay for itself. I highly recommend it and also changing your hook up hoses to the washing machine every 5 years. 👍

Excellent product. Very pleased with it. Our laundry is on our second floor, and if the washing machine sprung a leak, it could potentially cause major water damage to the main floor ceiling. But thanks to this invention, any leak would automatically shut off the water at its source and prevent any water damage. Anyone with laundry facilities on the second floor should have this. We also installed a drip pan from Home Depot under the washing machine for added protection.