Keep water out of your house. We dry the ones that didn't.

Dehumidifiers, sump pumps, leak detectors and drying gear, scored against a published rubric by the team behind a licensed 24/7 water-damage restoration company. No copied Amazon reviews, no pay-to-rank.

51 products scored14 guides and toolsHow we score

Start with the problem

Water damage emergency: get a crew

Calculators our crews actually use

Numbers first, products second.

Sump pump sizing calculatorMeasure how fast your pit fills, enter your lift and pipe run, and this calculator returns the flow you need at your actual head, with a 1.5x storm margin, and the pump class that delivers it. Most houses need less pump than they buy; a few need a lot more.Drying planner: how many air movers and how big a dehumidifierEnter the room dimensions, the linear feet of wet wall and the class of water loss, and the planner returns an air mover count and a dehumidifier size in pints per day at the AHAM rating, using the IICRC S500 placement rules and dehumidification factors our crews start every job with.What size dehumidifier do I need?Enter the floor area, ceiling height and how damp the space is, and the calculator returns the pints-per-day rating to buy, in the DOE 2019 pints printed on today's boxes, with 25 percent headroom and a crawl space mode that converts to the AHAM rating commercial units still use.

Dehumidifiers

Basement, crawl space and whole-home units, sized correctly.

All dehumidifiers guides

CalculatorWhat size dehumidifier do I need?Enter the floor area, ceiling height and how damp the space is, and the calculator returns the pints-per-day rating to buy, in the DOE 2019 pints printed on today's boxes, with 25 percent headroom and a crawl space mode that converts to the AHAM rating commercial units still use.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best crawl space dehumidifiersFor most sealed crawl spaces, buy the Santa Fe Compact70: 70 pints a day at 80°F/60%, a 12-inch-tall cabinet, a MERV-13 filter and a 6-year warranty. If the space runs cold or you need a pump in the box, the AlorAir Sentinel HDi90 is the value pick; if you want to duct it or run a wall control upstairs, the AprilAire E080 is the upgrade.Updated October 30, 2026

Sump Pumps & Backups

Primary pumps, battery and water-powered backups, alarms.

All sump pumps & backups guides

CalculatorSump pump sizing calculatorMeasure how fast your pit fills, enter your lift and pipe run, and this calculator returns the flow you need at your actual head, with a 1.5x storm margin, and the pump class that delivers it. Most houses need less pump than they buy; a few need a lot more.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best water-powered backup sump pumpsIf you are on municipal water with 60 psi or better, the Zoeller Home Guard Max 503 moves the most water of any water-powered backup we could document: 1,140 GPH at 10 ft, with no battery to die. Buy the Liberty SumpJet SJ10A if your pressure is low, and the Basepump RB750-EZ if you want the backflow preventer, alarm and a 5-year warranty in one box.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best sump pumpsFor most basements, buy the Zoeller M53 Mighty-Mate: a cast iron 3/10 HP pump that moves 2,040 GPH at 10 ft and outlives everything else we pull out of pits. Buy the Wayne CDU980E if you want more than twice the flow and a 5-year warranty for similar money, the Wayne CDU1000 for a pit that fills fast, and the Liberty 257 for a narrow pit.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best battery backup sump pumpsFor most homes, buy the Basement Watchdog Big Dog CONNECT: 2,200 GPH at 10 ft, a 20 A charger that refills the battery between storms, and a weekly self-test. Buy the Special CONNECT if the budget is tight, the Zoeller Aquanot Fit 508 ProPak if you are replacing the primary pump too, and the PumpSpy PS2000 if you want your phone to know before the carpet does.Updated October 30, 2026

Leak Detection & Shutoff

Smart sensors and automatic shutoff valves that stop floods early.

All leak detection & shutoff guides

DataWhich insurers give discounts for leak detectors and smart shutoffsSix US carriers publicly document a discount, device credit or program for smart water shutoff valves and leak sensors as of October 2026: Farmers, Nationwide, Mercury, Chubb, Amica and American Family. Most others decide agent by agent. Below is every program we could cite to the insurer or the manufacturer, what it covers, and how to document your install.Updated October 30, 2026
Head to headMoen Flo vs Phyn PlusBuy the Moen Flo if your insurer names it, you want a valve body sized to your main, and you value Moen's sensor ecosystem. Buy Phyn Plus if you want pressure-wave micro-leak detection, an ultrasonic flow sensor with no moving parts and a two-year warranty with no subscription. Both close the main automatically, both need a plumber, and neither has battery backup.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best water leak detectorsBuy the YoLink starter kit if your risk points are in a crawl space, sump pit or outbuilding, or you plan to add automatic shutoff later. Buy the GoveeLife 1s kit for the most coverage per dollar with a loud siren. Buy Moen's Smart Water Detector if you want no hub and temperature and humidity alerts, and Eve Water Guard if you run Apple Home and want one long sensing cable along a basement wall.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best smart water shutoff valvesBuy the Moen Flo if you want the whole-house shutoff insurers recognize most and a sensor ecosystem behind it; buy Phyn Plus if you want pressure-based micro-leak testing and a two-year warranty with no subscription. If you cannot cut the main, Flume 2 gives you flow alerts off the meter in ten minutes, and the YoLink kit closes an existing ball valve from battery-powered sensors for a fraction of the cost.Updated October 30, 2026

Moisture Testing

Meters, hygrometers, thermal cameras and mold tests.

All moisture testing guides

Buying guideThe best moisture meters for leaks, walls and floorsThe Protimeter SurveyMaster is the meter we would buy if we could own only one: pin and pinless in one body, a calibration check in the box, and readings adjusters accept. If you need an answer today for the price of a pizza, the General Tools MMD4E is accurate enough to tell you whether to open the wall.Updated October 30, 2026

Drying & Restoration

Air movers, LGR dehumidifiers, pumps and scrubbers pros actually use.

All drying & restoration guides

CalculatorDrying planner: how many air movers and how big a dehumidifierEnter the room dimensions, the linear feet of wet wall and the class of water loss, and the planner returns an air mover count and a dehumidifier size in pints per day at the AHAM rating, using the IICRC S500 placement rules and dehumidification factors our crews start every job with.Updated October 30, 2026
GuideHow to dry out a flooded basement in 72 hoursSeventy-two hours is not a slogan; it is roughly how long you have before wet drywall and framing start growing mold. This is the sequence our crews follow on a basement loss, written for a homeowner doing it alone: make it safe, stop the water, document, extract, remove what cannot be saved, then dry with air movers and a dehumidifier until a moisture meter says you are done.Updated October 30, 2026
Buying guideThe best air movers for drying wet floors and wallsFor most homes the Dri-Eaz Velo Pro is the air mover to buy: 885 CFM, an adjustable 1.2–1.9 A draw and five positions, so several run on one circuit. The XPOWER P-230AT does three-quarters of the job for a third of the price, and if the wet area is a whole basement you should rent, not buy.Updated October 30, 2026

Why trust a restoration company's gear reviews?

Because we buy this equipment with our own money, run it on real losses, and see which sump pumps fail at 2 a.m. Every score comes from a published rubric; field experience can move it by at most 1.5 points, and we show the note when it does.

Meet the team

Specs verified against manufacturer documentation, not listings
Scores explained criterion by criterion on every product
Prices shown live with a timestamp, never baked into the page
Emergencies routed to licensed pros, not sold to the highest bidder