Leak Detection & Shutoff

• 

  Buying guide

  The best water leak detectors

  Buy 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.

  Top pick: YoLink Water Leak Starter Kit (Hub + 3 Water Leak Sensor 1)

  4.0 · 7.8/10

  9 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  Buying guide

  The best smart water shutoff valves

  Buy 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.

  Top pick: Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff (3/4 in, 900-001)

  4.0 · 8.3/10

  11 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  How-to

  How to install a smart water shutoff valve: what is DIY and what needs a plumber

  There are two kinds of smart shutoff, and which one you bought decides who installs it. A bolt-on actuator clamps over the handle of the ball valve you already have and is an hour's work with a screwdriver. An inline monitor such as Moen Flo or Phyn Plus replaces a section of the main supply line with the device, which means draining the house, cutting pipe and making four watertight joints; both manufacturers recommend a licensed plumber and quote one to two hours. Either way the device goes after the meter, the main shutoff and the pressure regulator and before the first branch, within reach of a GFCI outlet and a strong 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi signal.

  16 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  How-to

  How to shut off the water to your house

  The main shutoff is on the water line where it enters the house: on the street-side basement wall, in the crawl space, in the garage or a utility closet on a slab home, or in the meter box at the curb in warm climates. A lever handle closes with a quarter turn to perpendicular; a round wheel handle closes clockwise, several turns. Find it today, close it once to prove it works, and hang a tag on it, because the day you need it you will be standing in water.

  14 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  How-to

  Where to put water leak sensors

  Put the first sensor in the water heater pan, the second behind the washing machine, the third in the sump pit above the high-water line. Those three spots are where we find the floods that ran for days. Then under the kitchen sink, behind the refrigerator, and in the attic air handler pan. This guide is the full map: what fails where, exactly how to position each sensor, how many you need, and how to make sure they still work in year three.

  12 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  How-to

  Water heater leaking: what to do in the first 30 minutes

  Close the cold-water valve on top of the tank, turn the gas control to off or flip the breaker, and then look. A leak at a fitting, the relief valve or the drain valve is a repair you or a plumber can make today. Water seeping from the bottom of the tank means the tank has rusted through and it is a replacement, and the job in the meantime is keeping the water from spreading into the walls and the floor below. Here is the order, with the safety steps first.

  12 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  Head to head

  Moen Flo vs Phyn Plus

  Buy 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.

  Top pick: Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff (3/4 in, 900-001)

  4.0 · 8.3/10

  8 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  Review

  Phyn Plus (2nd Gen) review

  Buy the Phyn Plus if you want the most sophisticated leak detection you can put on a residential main, a flow sensor with no moving parts, a two-year warranty and no subscription of any kind, and you are willing to pay more up front and buy pipe adapters. Skip it if your insurer names the Moen Flo, if you need shutoff during a power outage, or if the main cannot be cut.

  Top pick: Phyn Plus Smart Water Assistant + Shutoff (2nd Gen)

  4.5 · 9.0/10

  10 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  Review

  Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff review

  Buy the Moen Flo if you own a house on a 3/4, 1 or 1-1/4-in main, you can get an outlet and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi to the main line, and you want the whole-house shutoff that insurers recognize most widely. Skip it if you cannot cut the main, if you need the water to shut off during a power outage, or if a one-year base warranty on a device that lives in your supply line bothers you more than a monthly plan does.

  Top pick: Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff (3/4 in, 900-001)

  4.0 · 8.3/10

  10 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

• 

  Data

  Which insurers give discounts for leak detectors and smart shutoffs

  Six 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.

  8 min readUpdated October 30, 2026

What we have scored

Every product in these categories is scored out of 10 against a published rubric; the stars are that score halved. The buying guides above rank them in full.

• Smart water shutoff valves and leak monitors
  5 products scored
  1. Phyn Plus Smart Water Assistant + Shutoff (2nd Gen)4.5 · 9.0/10
  2. Moen Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff (3/4 in, 900-001)4.0 · 8.3/10
  3. Flume 2 Smart Home Water Monitor2.5 · 5.1/10
  Buying guide: The best smart water shutoff valves
• Water leak sensors and alarms
  6 products scored
  1. YoLink Water Leak Starter Kit (Hub + 3 Water Leak Sensor 1)4.0 · 7.8/10
  2. Eve Water Guard4.0 · 7.5/10
  3. GoveeLife Smart Water Leak Detector 1s (Gateway + 3 sensors)3.5 · 7.4/10
  Buying guide: The best water leak detectors