Recently, one of our industry partners decided get on the flood prevention train and install a WaterCop Pro Series automatic water shut-off valve. After the installation was complete and the system operational, he was inspired to blog about how cool the system is.
So that’s where we come in. Since he did such a great job writing the blog, it doesn’t make sense for us to try and report on what he said, rather we’ll just post it up for him. So, please enjoy the following blog written by our friend Mark from Disaster Restoration Services.
Minimize Water Damage w WaterCop
Coming home after a long day of work or play only to find the flooded basement and the massive water damage which awaits you is never fun. Our company regularly sees all kinds of flooding in houses and, to be frank, it’s never cheap to clean it up. It requires skilled technicians who know what they’re doing, lots of expensive equipment and the inconvenience of all the time lost getting your home back to a livable condition. Ever since people added water to their homes there have always been home flooding and water damage. But now we have WaterCop to help us avoid a lot of home flooding and water damage to it’s contents.
Strategies to Help You Avoid Having a Flooded Basement
Our family just moved into a new house in Erie, Colorado. We liked our old house but we needed something bigger as our family has grown a lot since we originally moved to Northglenn. Our old house had a flooded basement about once a year. Sometimes it was from outside water coming into our house during a storm, sometimes it was from the water drain pipe (which took our waste water out to the city sewer) getting clogged and sometimes it was because we had a water pipe break. Because of this, we’ve added a lot of LeakFrogs to our basement near windows, the washing machine and the drain opening near our water heater. Before we had LeakFrogs it would be several hours before we discovered the flooded basement and the water damage would always be extensive when we eventually found it. However, once we added these little green guardians we would be notified about the flooding long before it became a fully flooded basement and therefore the water damage to our belongings was greatly reduced. We’ve also added LeakFrogs to our new house in the same places as the last house, however, our new house has a lot more bathrooms and lots more places where broken pipes could rupture and completely flood our home if not caught in time. For this reason, we called McAdams Plumbing and asked for their help. For years Rick McAdams had been telling me about this great device he was able to install for us called a “WaterCop.”
Our New WaterCop and an End to Flooded Basements
It took Rick a few hours to install our new WaterCop but after the installation was done I was fully able to appreciate this little device. On the incoming water main from the city Rick put the main device which receives wireless signals from the many water sensors which were placed around the house wherever there was a potential source for flooding to begin (under sinks, behind toilets, under the dishwasher, near the clothes washing machine, etc). The sensors communicate to the main unit wirelessly and they are each powered by two “AA” batteries. They also have a wire that leads to a sensor with two metal prongs. Those prongs are secured under a baseboard and, when they get wet, they send a signal to the main unit and the water to the house is shut off.
There is also a main control panel. It’s easy to just look at it to see what the status of the system is and if there are any problems. When we leave the house for vacation or a long weekend we can also just go down to the main panel and turn all of the water in the house off with the press of one little button.
WaterCop Saves You Money on Your Insurance
To my surprise, after the WaterCop was installed, I was told to submit the invoice for the installation to our insurance agent. Apparently, since the risk of basement flooding (and all the associated water damage) is considerably reduced, my agent told me that I could get a reduction on our home insurance rates.
Final Thoughts on WaterCop and An End to Flooded Basements
The afternoon after Rick had installed the WaterCop system we got an unplanned test of the system. My wife was mopping the bathroom floor and got a little water on one of the sensors. Sure enough, it started emitting a loud beep. I pulled the sensor out from under the baseboard and dried it off and the beeping stopped. I walked down to the control panel and the light had switched from green to red — indicating that there was a problem. It told me which sensor had reported the problem and, knowing that the problem was solved, I pushed the green button and magically the water to the house was turned back on. No drama, no mess and, most importantly, NO WATER DAMAGE!!!
All in all, I can’t imagine why everyone in the world wouldn’t get one of these units installed into their houses. The cost for these systems and the installation is roughly equal to what it’ll cost you to fix a very small water loss in your home. And, with this system you can live worry-free that if you start to get a flooded basement you’ll know about it and it’ll be stopped long before it becomes a big problem. I’m told that the company which produces WaterCop are even working on an upgrade to this system so that it will send a text message to your phone, telling you that you’ve got a problem even if you’re not home when the problem occurs.
As always, if you’ve got questions about WaterCop, home flooding, flooded basements or water damage, please call The Experts at 303-801-0300 today!
Thanks Mark, and great work on the blog!
