Water leaks pose significant risks to vacation rental properties because they are vacant a lot of the time. This means the damages caused by a water leak are much more severe (since they typically occur over a longer period of time).
In response to these dangers, many hosts have tried smart water detection and shutoff systems like the Moen Flo or Phyn Plus. While these technologies offer certain benefits, there are compelling reasons why recommend a different approach.
We recommend turning the well or water main off when the property is vacant, using a device like the Zooz Titan water valve or a well control device like what is described in our step-by-step guides, and automating either or both with Rental Home Automator. You can also help you augment the automatic shutoff with notifications about leaks if they happen when hosts or guests are present.
Our team has had experience with numerous owners/hosts who have tried the smart detection and shutoff systems, like the ones mentioned above. In all cases, they had to disable the systems because the automatic detection would commonly trigger and shut the water off on guests during their stays. By ensuring the water is off when the home is vacant and manually taking action if a leak occurs when guests are present, you can protect your asset while providing the best experience possible for guests.
Here’s an overview of why being informed about water leaks can be advantageous compared to relying solely on automatic water detection and shutoff systems.
1. Enhanced Control Over Response
Utilizing Rental Home Automator to ensure your water is off when your property is vacant leaves only situations when you have guests to worry about. When you are notified about a water leak, you retain complete control over the situation. You can work with the guests and decide on the most appropriate action to take, whether that means shutting off the water, calling a plumber, or asking the guests in your home if something happened. This control allows for more tailored responses, taking into account the specific circumstances and resulting in potentially better outcomes.
2. Mitigation of False Alarms
Automatic water detection and shutoff systems may sometimes trigger false alarms due to environmental factors, such as humidity or condensation, or large volume usage such as a shower or multiple showers running at once. Ensuring the water is off when guests aren’t present, and supplementing with one or more leak sensors if desired, results in the same risk mitigation without accidentally disrupting your guest’s stay.
Too many times we’ve received complaints from guests when the water shuts off halfway through their shower because the systems think there is a water leak. Any rental homes we were involved with that had these smart water detection systems have turned off the automatic shutoff, defeating the purpose of these expensive devices.
3. Cost Efficiency
Implementing automatic water detection and shutoff systems can come with significant installation and maintenance costs. We also know that technology can fail, so installing one of these devices directly on your main water line is costly up front and then would be equally costly when it would need to be replaced.
In contrast, implementing Rental Home Automator’s water control when the property is vacant requires a much lower investment. You can achieve effective water control without the expensive automatic system devices, allowing you to allocate resources to other necessary upgrades or maintenance tasks in your property.
4. Avoiding Extra Maintenance Costs
Many of the smart water monitoring systems come with connected leak detection devices that can be placed around the property. While we agree these can add an additional layer of benefit, we have struggled to keep these systems functioning over time. The leak sensors typically are battery operated and come with unique batteries like the CR123A. They can also be moved around by guests or other cleaning/maintenance people, and sometimes they end up disconnecting from the system (due to low battery or connectivity issues).
Although these notifications are nice, we find the added cost & time to maintain these devices not worth the extra layer of protection they provide.
5. Keeps it Simple
Automatic detection and shutoff systems are typically in areas not accessible by guests. So if the water does shut off when guests are in the house, they will have to wait until you are able to evaluate that the situation is ok and reactivate the water again. If a plumber needs to be involved, these systems can be confusing and intimidating since the valve itself is integrated into their device.
By contrast, a smart water valve that is installed on top of a quarter-turn valve can be removed if it fails or if manual intervention is needed. Many times they can also be manually turned even while they are still connected, ensuring that maintenance or other emergency personnel can operate the valve easily if necessary.
While automatic water detection and shutoff systems can certainly serve as a helpful safety net for managing water leaks, the downsides outweigh the benefits. Utilizing Rental Home Automator to automate water control so it is off when your property is vacant provides a good level of security where you can feel confident you won’t have major water damage in your vacation rental property. In turn, it avoids the risk associated with an automated water detection system turning off when guests are in the shower or necessitating costly repairs when it fails.
Want to see which devices we recommend you use at your Airbnb?
