1. Each category has a rubric
A crawl-space dehumidifier and a battery-backup sump pump do not succeed for the same reasons, so each product class has its own weighted criteria. The weights reflect what matters in the field, and they follow the "how to choose" sections of our buying guides: for a dehumidifier, verified moisture removal at the published test condition, efficiency, cold-air performance and how it drains count for more than Wi-Fi features; for a backup pump, runtime, charger strength and flow at realistic head height count for more than the brand of the battery.
2. Specs are verified, not copied from listings
We take capacity, flow, coverage, energy and warranty figures from manufacturer documentation and independent test standards (DOE 2019 for dehumidifiers, pump curves for sump pumps), not from marketplace titles, which routinely overstate them. When a manufacturer does not publish a figure the cell stays empty rather than guessed, and the share of the rubric we could verify is published as spec coverage next to the score.
3. What the numbers mean
Every criterion scores 0–10 against anchors set from the real market, not from a fantasy sheet: 10 is the best credible spec actually sold in that segment, 0 is the weakest product we would still list. Where a spec has an ideal band rather than a "more is better" direction (sump pump flow against what a typical pit needs, dehumidifier capacity against the space, noise with a floor below which nobody can hear the difference) the band scores 10 and the score falls off on either side. The weights follow what our guides say matters in that category, and every anchor carries a written rationale in the rubric tables below.
- 9–10: the best credible spec in its segment, with nothing we would warn you about.
- 7–8: a solid choice for its intended role; most of our picks live here.
- 5–6: compromised somewhere that matters; the breakdown says where.
- Below 5: avoid unless the one thing it does is the one thing you need.
Rubrics recalibrated 2026-10-31. Before that date the anchors were set generously enough that a top pick could sit at 5 out of 10; the scale above is the one every score on the site now uses.
4. The math, including what happens when a spec is missing
The product score is a weighted average of its criteria. A criterion with no verified spec does not simply vanish from the average, because that would let a product with one flattering number and an otherwise empty sheet score a perfect 10. Instead each missing criterion counts as a neutral 5 at 50% of its weight, in both the top and the bottom of the fraction:
score = ( Σ verified score × weight + Σ 5 × weight × 0.5 ) ÷ ( Σ verified weight + Σ missing weight × 0.5 )So an unpublished spec pulls a product toward the middle of the scale rather than up or down: a unit with one favorable spec and 10% coverage lands near 6, not 10. There are no hidden factors and no sponsorship inputs.
5. Below 50% coverage there is no rating
If we could verify less than half of a rubric from manufacturer documentation, the product is still listed with the specs we have, but it gets no stars and no numeric score; you will see "Not enough verified data" with the coverage percentage instead. We do not make a product a pick in a buying guide until it clears that bar.
6. Field experience can move a score by at most 1.5 points
Our crews ran this equipment on real water losses. Where a product the rubric cannot fully describe earned or lost our trust in the field (a pump family we kept finding still running past year ten, a meter that is a wood tool first), an editor can adjust the score by up to ±1.5 points. Every adjustment is published with its reason in the score breakdown; it never invents a test we did not run, and it cannot rescue a product below the coverage threshold. If you do not see one, there was none.
7. We do not use Amazon star ratings
Marketplace ratings mix products, pool variants and can be gamed. We link to them so you can read them, but they never enter our scores, and we never copy review text.
8. The stars are our score, halved
Where you see stars on this site they are the DryHomeLab rating: the 0–10 rubric score divided by two and rounded to the nearest half star, always shown with the numeric score beside it. One reviewer, one rating per product; there is no averaging of anyone else's opinions behind them. Products below the coverage threshold show no stars at all.
9. Photographs and diagrams
Illustrative photographs on this site are photorealistic renderings produced for DryHomeLab; they show typical equipment and situations, not specific jobs. Diagrams are drawn by us. Product images are our own line drawing of the product class unless we have our own photograph; we never copy marketplace photos.
10. How money works
When you buy through a link on this site we may earn a commission from Amazon, Sylvane, Home Depot, manufacturers and other retailers. Commission rates differ between stores, and that difference never changes an ordering or a score: rankings are produced before links are attached. We also refer emergency and installation jobs to vetted contractors through HelpMeNow.com, which our team operates, and may receive a referral fee. Full disclosure.
11. Updates
Prices and availability are fetched live when you load a page and stamped with the time. Product data is re-checked at least daily; guides are reviewed when a product is discontinued, a recall is issued, or a better option ships. Each page shows its last update date.
Published rubrics
Weights are shares of the class total. "How it is scored" gives the anchors; the note under each criterion is the rationale for them. Recalibrated 2026-10-31.
Portable dehumidifiers (basement and room)
Compressor dehumidifiers for basements, bedrooms and living spaces. Capacity uses the DOE 2019 test (65°F / 60% RH), the number on the box since 2019; drainage, bucket size and noise decide whether a portable keeps running unattended for a season.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Right-sized moisture removal DOE 2019 rating. 50 pints is the basement class; smaller units are for a room or a small, sealed basement. | 20% | 10 for 35–50 pints/day; falls to 0 at 5 pints/day and 0 at 80 pints/day DOE 2019 pints. The guide's answer for a basement is the 50-pint class, and 35 pints covers a small basement, so 35–50 scores 10. Below that the unit is a room dehumidifier and loses a point per 3 pints (a 20-pint scores 5). No credit above 50: no portable is rated higher under the DOE test. |
| Efficiency Integrated energy factor; determines the power bill in season. | 15% | 0 at 1.3 L/kWh, 10 at 2.2 L/kWh or more Integrated energy factor in L/kWh. 1.3 is where non-certified portables sit; every ENERGY STAR 50-pint here is 2.01; 2.2 is the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient tier. A 20-pint at 1.7 scores 4.4, which is honest: small units remove less water per kWh. |
| Bucket size For anyone without a drain nearby. | 15% | 0 at 1 gal, 10 at 4.5 gal or more A 1-gallon bucket fills three or four times a day at full output and nobody keeps that up; the Midea Cube's 4.25-gallon extended bucket is the largest sold and cuts it to once a day. |
| Quietness Published dBA on the high fan setting. | 15% | 10 for up to 48 dB; falls to 0 at 60 dB 48 dBA or less is unobtrusive in a finished room and scores 10; each 1.2 dB above costs a point, reaching 0 at 60 dBA, which is a window air conditioner. Makers that publish no figure take the neutral prior rather than a guess. |
| Continuous drain port Run it on a hose, not the bucket. | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A gravity drain port is what lets a portable run unattended for a season; the guide calls it the decision that determines whether the unit works in August while you are away. |
| Built-in pump Pushes condensate up to a sink or out a window well. | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Only needed when the only drain is higher than the unit; a modest credit because a pump is one more thing to fail and a gravity hose does the job for most basements. |
| ENERGY STAR certified | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Certification on the current ENERGY STAR list; usually required for utility rebates and recycling bounties. |
| Warranty | 5% | 0 at 0 years, 10 at 2 years or more Portables are a 1-year class: 1 year scores 5, 2 years (the best offered on a portable) scores 10. If you want 5–6 years, you are shopping the crawl-space class. |
| Cold-room operation Lower is better; basements run cool. | 5% | 10 at 38 °F or less, 0 at 50 °F Every pick here is rated to 41°F (scores 7.5); 38°F is the best a compressor portable claims; a 50°F floor would stall for much of the year in a cool basement. |
| App control | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Lets you see the setpoint, a full bucket or a fault from upstairs; a convenience, not a necessity, so a small weight. |
Water-powered backup sump pumps
Venturi backups that run on municipal water pressure with no battery to die. Scored on flow at typical pressure and how much water they burn per gallon pumped.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Flow at 10 ft At 10 ft of head on a 60 psi supply, from a published pressure-and-head table. | 30% | 10 for 1000–1600 GPH; falls to 0 at 400 GPH and 0 at 2600 GPH 1,000–1,600 GPH at 10 ft and 60 psi keeps up with a steady spring inflow in a typical pit and matches the larger units sold (Basepump rates its CB1500 at 1,450), so that band scores 10. Below 1,000 each 60 GPH short costs a point, so the 750 GPH entry models score about 6: enough for a modest pit, slowly losing in a fast one. |
| Water efficiency Gallons of sump water removed per gallon of city water used. | 20% | 0 at 1, 10 at 2 or more 1:1 is the weakest venturi sold; 2:1 is the best published ratio and what Zoeller and Liberty state. Every gallon pumped during an outage is on the water bill, so a 2:1 unit costs half as much to run as a 1:1. |
| Works on low pressure | 15% | 10 at 20 psi or less, 0 at 60 psi Most houses measure 40–80 psi dynamic, so the common 40 psi requirement scores 5; Liberty's 20 psi rating scores 10 and is the only choice for a low-pressure house; a unit needing 60 psi would fail on many mains when demand spikes during a regional outage. |
| Warranty | 15% | 0 at 1 years, 10 at 5 years or more 1 year is the generic-ejector class; 3 years (Liberty) is the norm; 5 years (Basepump) is the longest in the class. |
| Backflow protection included | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A listed backflow device is required by code on every water-powered pump; one built in saves a part and an install step. Moderate weight because many districts still demand a separate RPZ assembly regardless. |
| Alarm included | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A water-powered backup runs silently on the water main; an included high-water alarm is how you learn it is running and costing water. |
Air movers (drying fans)
Centrifugal and axial fans that move air across wet surfaces to speed evaporation. Scored for airflow per amp, positioning options and the daisy-chain outlets that let you run several on one circuit.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Amps per fan Low draw means more fans per 15 A circuit. | 20% | 10 at 1.5 A or less, 0 at 8 A Amps per fan decides how many run on one 15 A circuit, which is the spec that stops drying jobs cold: 1.5 A (the Velo Pro turned down) allows eight on a circuit; 8 A is one fan per breaker. |
| Daisy-chain outlets | 15% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A pass-through outlet lets five fans ring a room from one wall outlet; without it every fan needs its own cord run across a wet floor. |
| Positioning options | 15% | 0 at 1, 10 at 5 or more Water wicks up walls and pools in corners and on stairs. A fan that only sits flat dries floors; five positions (Velo Pro) cover floors, wall bases, stairways and cabinets. |
| Real air-mover airflow A threshold, not a race: placement and count matter more than volume. | 10% | 10 for 800–3000 CFM; falls to 0 at 300 CFM and 0 at 4000 CFM Anything from 800 CFM up is a real air mover and scores 10, because IICRC S500 sizes drying by placement and count: three 900 CFM fans placed right dry a room faster than one 3,200 CFM fan in a corner. Below 800 the fan is a utility blower and loses two points per 100 CFM. |
| Durability | 10% | steel: 7, plastic: 6, abs plastic: 4, polyethylene: 9, roto-molded polyethylene: 10 Rotomolded polyethylene survives being dropped down stairs for a decade; injection-molded polypropylene housings are fine for occasional use; the ABS shells on hardware-store utility fans crack at the pivot after a few seasons. |
| Cord length | 10% | 0 at 8 ft, 10 at 25 ft or more Most basement floods happen 20 ft from the nearest outlet, and a long factory cord is one fewer extension cord lying in water. 8 ft is the shortest sold; B-Air's 25 ft is the longest. |
| Warranty | 5% | 0 at 0 years, 10 at 3 years or more 1 year is the consumer norm, 2 years (B-Air) is good for the class, 3 is the best credible term. Many professional fans do not publish one and take the neutral prior. |
| Portability | 5% | 10 at 10 lb or less, 0 at 30 lb Carried up stairs and stacked in a van: 10 lb is the lightest compact unit, 30 lb the heaviest full-size centrifugal. |
| Quietness | 5% | 10 for up to 65 dB; falls to 0 at 80 dB 65 dBA or less can share a floor with a bedroom door closed; each 1.5 dB above costs a point. Few makers publish it, and nobody sleeps next to an air mover. |
| Stackable | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Matters once you own more than two: stacks on a hand truck and in a closet. |
Primary sump pumps
Submersible and pedestal primary pumps. Flow is scored at 10 ft of head, the realistic figure for a basement discharge, not the zero-head number on the box, and against what a typical pit needs rather than "more is better": an oversized pump short-cycles its switch to death.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Build material Cast iron sheds heat into the water and lasts; thermoplastic runs hotter. | 25% | cast iron: 10, thermoplastic: 3, stainless steel: 8, cast iron/stainless: 9, cast iron/thermoplastic: 6 A sump motor's heat has nowhere to go but the water around it; cast iron conducts it there, thermoplastic insulates it in. All-cast-iron pumps are the ones our crews found still running at year twelve; a stainless motor housing on a cast iron volute runs nearly as cool; thermoplastic pumps are the ones we found cracked or thermally tripped on water-loss calls. The heaviest weight because it is what decides year ten. |
| Switch reliability Switches are the usual failure point. Vertical floats work in narrow pits; tethered floats snag. | 15% | diaphragm: 6, dual float: 9, electronic: 7, tethered float: 5, vertical float: 9 The switch is the usual failure point. Vertical and dual floats need little clearance and cannot wander, the right choice in pits under 18 in; electronic switches are reliable but foul with iron bacteria; diaphragms fatigue and fail without warning; tethered floats are the ones we find jammed against the pit wall. No switch type earns a 10 because every switch is the part that fails first. |
| Right-sized flow at 10 ft of head Flow at a realistic basement lift, scored against what a typical pit needs rather than "more is better". | 15% | 10 for 1800–3600 GPH; falls to 0 at 800 GPH and 0 at 6600 GPH 10 ft is the lift a basement discharge actually sees. 1,800–3,600 GPH covers the measured inflow of most pits (the 1/3 to 1/2 HP class); the pump the guide recommends for most houses, the Zoeller M53, moves 2,040. Oversizing is not insurance, it is short-cycling, and short-cycling kills switches, so flow above the band loses a point per 300 GPH (4,600 GPH scores 6.7, 5,100 scores 5). Below the band a pump cannot keep up with a spring inflow and loses a point per 100 GPH. |
| Warranty | 15% | 0 at 1 years, 10 at 5 years or more 1 year is the budget thermoplastic class; 3 years (Zoeller M53 and M98, Liberty 257) is the quality norm and scores 5; 5 years (Zoeller M63, Wayne CDU line) is the longest offered. |
| Head capability | 10% | 0 at 12 ft, 10 at 24 ft or more Shutoff head. 12 ft barely clears a basement discharge once the check valve's friction is added; 24 ft is the best published in the residential 1/2 HP class and is the deciding spec for lifts of 15 ft or more. |
| Efficiency (lower amps) | 5% | 10 at 4 A or less, 0 at 12 A Running amps. Lower draw leaves room on the circuit and runs longer on an inverter backup; 4 A is the most efficient 1/3 HP sold, 12 A is a 1 HP motor. Horsepower is a poor proxy: the 3/10 HP M53 pulls 9.7 A. Low weight because a dedicated circuit solves it. |
| Cord length | 5% | 0 at 6 ft, 10 at 25 ft or more The cord has to reach the outlet without an extension cord, which is a code issue and the usual cause of a nuisance-tripped GFCI. Every pump here ships with 8–10 ft; 25 ft is the longest factory option. Low weight because long-cord variants are sold. |
| Solids handling | 5% | 0 at 0.25 in, 10 at 0.5 in or more Half-inch solids handling keeps grit and iron-bacteria sludge from jamming the impeller; a quarter inch is a clear-water pump. |
| Thermal protection | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Automatic reset after an overheat instead of a burned winding; standard on quality pumps. |
Moisture meters
Pin and pinless meters for drywall, wood, subfloor and concrete. Accuracy and a way to verify calibration separate tools you can trust from toys.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Calibration check A reference built in or shipped in the box. | 20% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A meter you cannot check is a meter you cannot defend. Credit for a reference built in or in the box: General's pin-cap resistor, Delmhorst's built-in check, Protimeter's check device, Wagner's calibrator block. A check box sold separately (Tramex) does not count; the spec says what ships. |
| Published accuracy | 15% | 10 at 1 % or less, 0 at 5 % Stated accuracy in ± percent moisture content. ±1% is laboratory grade; ±2% (General MMD4E) is good for a consumer meter; ±5% is a guess with a display. Professional meters publish a calibration procedure instead of a figure, so this criterion is unverified for them and takes the neutral prior. |
| Versatility Pinless scans fast without holes; pins confirm depth. Dual does both. | 15% | pin: 7, dual: 10, pinless: 8 The professional workflow is scan, then confirm: pinless finds the boundary of a wet area without marks, pins prove the spot and read at depth. A dual meter does both in one tool; pinless alone scans faster; pin alone is slower but exact. |
| Professional grade Used by inspectors and restoration crews; readings accepted by insurers. | 15% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Carried by inspectors and restoration crews and recognized by adjusters in photos (Protimeter, Delmhorst, Tramex, Wagner). Consumer meters are accurate enough for your own decisions; they are not what the industry documents with. |
| Scan depth | 10% | 10 for 0.75–1.25 in; falls to 0 at 0.25 in and 0 at 2 in Pinless scan depth. 3/4 to 1-1/4 in reads through drywall into the framing and through flooring into the subfloor; shallower misses the back of the drywall; deeper reads the pipes, wire and nail plates behind the wall as moisture. Pin meters have no scan depth and take the neutral prior. |
| Warranty | 10% | 0 at 0 years, 10 at 5 years or more 1 year is the class norm and scores 2; Protimeter and Extech give 2 years; Wagner's 7 years is the outlier and caps the scale at 5. |
| Reading hold | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Freezes the reading when the display is out of sight under a cabinet or behind a toilet. |
| Backlight | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Crawl spaces and sink cabinets are dark. |
| Temperature / RH | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Ambient temperature and RH let you correct pin readings and log drying conditions for a claim. |
Battery backup sump pump systems
DC backup pumps that run when power fails or the primary dies. Runtime, charger strength and real flow at 10 ft matter more than peak numbers; alarms and app alerts are what tell you it's working.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime Intermittent duty on the recommended battery; storms outlast short runtimes. | 20% | 0 at 12 hours, 10 at 56 hours or more Published runtime on one recommended battery at a 10% duty cycle. Under 24 hours does not outlast a storm, and at 12 hours we would add a second battery before anything else; 48 hours (Watchdog Special, Zoeller 508) is the best single-battery figure in the group and 56 is the best credible claim at that duty. Check the claim against your own pit with the runtime math in the guide. |
| Flow at 10 ft of head Enough to match a typical primary pump; scored as a threshold, not a race. | 20% | 10 for 2000–3000 GPH; falls to 0 at 1000 GPH and 0 at 6000 GPH A backup only needs to match a typical primary's duty: the pumps we recommend for most houses move about 2,000 GPH at 10 ft, so anything from 2,000 up scores 10. Below that each 100 GPH short costs a point; at 1,000 GPH a backup cannot keep up with a normal spring inflow. |
| Charger strength Faster recharge between storms. | 20% | 0 at 0 A, 10 at 12 A or more The charger decides whether you have a backup for the second storm. Refilling a half-drained Group 27 takes more than a day at 1.6 A, about 5 hours at 10 A and under 3 hours at 20 A; above about 12 A the gain is marginal, so 12 A and up scores 10 and 1.6 A scores 1.3. |
| Audible alarm | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 An audible alarm on the controller is the minimum way to learn the backup ran. A backup you do not know is running is a backup you do not know is failing. |
| App alerts built in Power lost, backup running, battery low and pump fault on your phone, without an add-on module. | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Built-in Wi-Fi alerts are what tell you the day the primary died instead of the day the carpet is wet. Systems that need a separately sold module score 0 here, as the spec says; the module is noted in the verdict. |
| Automatic self-test | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A weekly or periodic self-test is the only early warning of a tired battery or a seized pump between storms. |
| Warranty | 10% | 0 at 1 years, 10 at 3 years or more Backup systems carry 1–3 years: 2 years (Basement Watchdog base term) scores 5, 3 years (Zoeller, PumpSpy) is the longest offered. |
Crawl space and whole-home dehumidifiers
Ducted or free-standing commercial-grade units for crawl spaces and whole-house installs. Capacity listed at the AHAM 80°F / 60% RH condition that this category still uses, with low-temperature performance weighted heavily because crawl spaces are cold.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Right-sized moisture removal AHAM 80°F/60% rating; not comparable to the DOE number on a retail box. | 15% | 10 for 70–120 pints/day; falls to 0 at 30 pints/day and 0 at 180 pints/day AHAM 80°F/60% pints. 70–120 pints covers a typical sealed crawl space of 1,500–3,000 sq ft with the 25% headroom we size for, so that band scores 10. Below 70 the unit only fits a small crawl space and loses a point per 4 pints (53 pints scores 5.8); above 120 is whole-house territory and loses a point per 6 pints. |
| Efficiency Commercial units should beat 2.5 L/kWh; they run for months. | 15% | 0 at 1.8 L/kWh, 10 at 3 L/kWh or more Energy factor at 80°F/60%. 1.8 L/kWh is portable-class efficiency; the Santa Fe Ultra98 at 2.9 is the best in this group and 3.0 is the best credible figure for a residential whole-home unit. Budget on the cool-air number, which every compressor unit publishes 20–30% lower. |
| Cold crawl space performance Crawl spaces sit in the 40s–50s for much of the year. | 15% | 10 for 30–45 °F; falls to 0 at 25 °F and 0 at 60 °F Minimum inlet temperature for dehumidification. A unit rated to 45°F or lower covers nearly every month moisture is being generated and scores 10. Each degree above costs two-thirds of a point: the 49–50°F floors on Santa Fe and AprilAire score about 7, because they rarely bite in a sealed crawl space in a mild climate but do in a cold, leaky or vented one, where the AlorAir 33.8°F rating is the safer spec. |
| Warranty | 15% | 0 at 1 years, 10 at 6 years or more 1 year is the portable class; 5 years (AprilAire) scores 8 and 6 years (Santa Fe, AlorAir) is the longest offered. A crawl space unit runs for a decade under a house nobody visits. |
| Fits a low crawl space | 10% | 10 at 12 in or less, 0 at 22 in Clearance decides what fits under the joists. 12 in is the lowest unit sold (Santa Fe Compact70) and the reason it goes where others do not; at 22 in a unit needs a full-height crawl space or a basement. |
| Quietness | 10% | 10 for up to 50 dB; falls to 0 at 65 dB 50 dBA or less is inaudible through a floor and scores 10; each 1.5 dB above costs a point (55 dBA scores 6.7, 58 dBA scores 4.7), because a crawl space unit under a bedroom runs at night. |
| Coverage Manufacturer figure for a tightly sealed crawl space. | 5% | 0 at 1000 sq ft, 10 at 3000 sq ft or more Low weight because the figures are not comparable across brands: AprilAire's 4,400–5,500 sq ft are whole-house numbers for a conditioned structure and simply cap at 10 here. Size on the AHAM pints and the calculator, not this figure. |
| Condensate pump included | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Most crawl spaces have no drain below the unit; including the pump saves a part and a wiring step. |
| Ductable | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Duct collars let one unit serve a divided crawl space or a whole house from one spot. |
| Airflow | 5% | 0 at 100 CFM, 10 at 300 CFM or more Airflow matters mainly for ducted installs: 100 CFM is the smallest crawl space unit, 300 CFM a whole-house blower. |
Water leak sensors and alarms
Point sensors that sit under water heaters, washers, sinks and sump pits. Battery life, alert reliability and freeze warnings decide whether they are still protecting you in year three.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Battery life | 20% | 0 at 6 months, 10 at 60 months or more Most sensors are dead when the leak comes. Six months is the worst Wi-Fi puck; five years on two AAA cells (YoLink, Govee) is the best published and scores 10; Moen's two years scores 3.3 and Ring's three years 5.6. Mains-powered sensors have no figure and take the neutral prior. |
| Phone alerts | 15% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A sensor that only beeps protects an occupied room; alerts on your phone protect the house while you are away. |
| Radio reliability Long-range, low-power radios keep working in basements and crawl spaces where Wi-Fi fades. | 10% | lora: 10, wifi: 5, thread: 7, z-wave: 7, zigbee: 7, bluetooth: 2, proprietary hub: 8, local alarm only: 0 Ranked by how far the radio reaches into the places that flood. LoRa is rated a quarter mile and reports from pits under slabs; sub-GHz proprietary gateways (Govee, 1,804 ft) are plenty for a large house; Z-Wave, Zigbee and Thread mesh at 100–250 ft; Wi-Fi fades in crawl spaces; Bluetooth needs a phone in range; a local alarm has no radio at all. |
| Freeze warning Burst pipes from freezing are the single most expensive residential water loss. | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Frozen pipes burst in garages, crawl spaces and cabins where nobody is standing; a temperature alert is the only warning you get. |
| Probe cable Lets the sensor sit dry while the probe reaches the low spot. | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A probe or cable lets the electronics stay high and dry while the sensing element reaches the bottom of a pan, the corner behind a washer or the inside of a pit. |
| Local siren | 10% | 0 at 60 dB, 10 at 110 dB or more 60 dB is a conversation and will not be heard through a door; 105 dB (Govee) is the loudest sold and 110 is the credible ceiling for a battery device. Sensors whose maker publishes no figure take the neutral prior. |
| Temperature and humidity logging | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Catches a damp basement and a cold garage before either becomes a loss, and lets you set a freeze alert at the temperature you choose. |
| Warranty | 10% | 0 at 0 years, 10 at 2 years or more Sensors carry 1–2 years: 1 year (Ring, Moen) scores 5, 2 years is the longest offered. |
| No hub needed | 5% | true: 7, false: 10 A small bonus to no-hub designs because a hub is one more thing to lose power; small because we would rather have a hub and a sensor that reports than no hub and a sensor that quietly dropped off the network. |
Smart water shutoff valves and leak monitors
Whole-house devices that detect leaks from flow or pressure and close the main automatically. The ones that monitor flow catch slow leaks sensors never see.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Detects leaks from flow Catches a running toilet or pinhole in a wall; sensors only catch puddles. | 20% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Flow monitoring on the main catches the losses point sensors never see: a running toilet, a slab leak, a pinhole inside a wall. It is the core of the category and carries the heaviest weight. |
| Shuts the main automatically | 15% | Yes = 10, No = 0 A monitor that cannot close the main only tells you about the loss; a valve stops it. |
| Warranty | 15% | 0 at 0 years, 10 at 2 years or more Smart valves carry 1–2 years: 1 year (Moen, YoLink) scores 5, 2 years (Phyn) is the longest offered. Moen's 5-year term is a paid FloProtect benefit and does not count. |
| Micro-leak pressure testing | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Overnight pressure-decay tests find weeping fittings and pinholes before they are leaks; the closest thing to an annual plumbing inspection you can automate, and worth more in a house with original copper or galvanized pipe. |
| No subscription for core protection | 10% | true: 3, false: 10 Automatic shutoff must work on the free tier. A device that paywalls its core protection scores 3 rather than 0 because it still protects while you pay. |
| Works in a power outage | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 The storms that burst pipes also drop power; a valve that still closes on battery is the only one protecting an empty house during an outage. |
| Insurance discounts | 10% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Whether an insurer or the manufacturer documents a premium discount in public (see the discount database); it offsets a meaningful share of the install cost. |
| No extra hub | 5% | true: 6, false: 10 A hub is one more thing to lose power or Wi-Fi; a small penalty because long-range hubs also solve the basement signal problem. |
| Expands with point sensors | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 Point sensors at the water heater and washer let the valve react to the fast failures that flow alone catches late. |
Commercial LGR dehumidifiers
Low-grain refrigerant units restoration crews use for structural drying. Scored on removal at the AHAM condition, saturation capacity, and amps so you can run them alongside air movers.
| Criterion | Weight | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture removal | 25% | 0 at 50 pints/day, 10 at 150 pints/day or more AHAM 80°F/60% pints. 50 is a crawl space unit; compact LGRs (Dri-Eaz Revolution, AlorAir Storm) rate 80–85; 150 is the largest portable LGR a crew moves by hand. |
| Saturation capacity | 10% | 0 at 100 pints/day, 10 at 250 pints/day or more Removal at 90°F/90% RH, the first day of a flooded basement. Published by most makers but not all. |
| Current draw | 15% | 10 at 5 A or less, 0 at 10 A Decides whether the dehumidifier shares a circuit with air movers: at 5 A it leaves room for three fans on a 15 A breaker; at 10 A it needs its own. |
| Warranty | 15% | 0 at 1 years, 10 at 5 years or more Commercial LGRs carry 1–5 years; 5 years (Phoenix, AlorAir) is the longest offered. |
| Internal pump | 15% | Yes = 10, No = 0 An internal condensate pump is standard on commercial units and the only way to run one unattended for days. |
| Portability | 10% | 10 at 55 lb or less, 0 at 110 lb Carried up basement stairs: 55 lb is a compact LGR one person can manage; 110 lb takes two people or a hand truck. |
| Stackable | 5% | Yes = 10, No = 0 For storage and transport between losses. |
| Drain hose length | 5% | 0 at 20 ft, 10 at 40 ft or more Included drain hose; 40 ft reaches a basement sink or window from the middle of most rooms. |