Dan's Papers - June 22, 2007 - Protect Your Home From Water

There is a predator residing in your home that could do more damage to your personal property than a burglar. Normally, this predator assists you in performing everyday tasks such as brushing your teeth, washing your clothes and dishes, showering or bathing, and in lots of cases heating your home. The predator is water. For instance, it's not the fire that creates the most damage but the water that the firemen use to put the fire out. What if there is no fire and a water leak occurs when no one is home to turn off the water? Property damage and displacement of family members can be avoided by employing a simple monitoring system that will shut off the water supply at the first detection of leakage.

In most cases of water leakage no one is home to notice that something is a miss. Water damage can result in a complete tear out of the entire home leaving nothing but the studs, as if the house was being newly built. All belongings thrown in a dumpster on the way to the garbage heap. All personal memorabilia from family is lost.

Gusher Busters offers a cost-effective solution to monitoring areas that would normally have the highest probability of leakage. This system is able to shut off the main water supply to the home when a leak as little as one sixteenth of an inch deep is detected. Additionally, the system is capable of providing a contact to an existing alarm system to notify the monitoring company that there is a water problem in the home after the water is shut off. There are currently water detection devices available for home security and alarm systems and these devices work well. The issue with these devices is they are not located in the areas of the home that have the highest failure rate for water leakage.

Therefore, by the time the water actually gets to these detectors and someone is notified (assuming someone is available and has access to the home) significant damage has already occurred to irreplaceable personal property and rugs, wall boards and wood flooring.

There is a status/control panel installed that provides a status of the valve, either "ON" or "OFF," and allows occupants of the home to manually turn "OFF" or "ON" the water from this remote panel. In many cases residents of a home are unable to manually utilize the shut off valve for the water main. Usually the manual water shut off is in the basement or in an inaccessible area of the home. With certain monitoring systems, a simple push of the "OFF" button on the control will eliminate further water damage should the resident find a leak in an area that is not monitored or if there is a need service the water system by a plumber. This feature by itself is a great tool for the elderly and those who have a difficult time manipulating the manual values.

The cost of these types of water monitoring systems is based upon the topography of your home. There are two basic systems - The Ranch/Condo Unit: 2 Bath, Kitchen/Dishwasher, Washer/Dryer area and Boiler/Hot Water Heater. The installed price for this water leak system is $895.95. The second option is the Colonial: 2 Baths, Kitchen/Dishwasher, Washer/Dryer area and Boiler/Hot Water Heater. The installed price for this system is $995.95. Additional water leak detectors can be installed almost anywhere in the home as requested by the homeowner. Each additional leak detector is $99.95 installed.

The cost of these systems is less than most homeowner insurance policies. Yet this system provides a measure of protection from property damage and loss of personal property, which a homeowner's insurance policy cannot provide. Yes, insurance can repair your home yet they cannot replace precious lost items lost to water damage.

There are a number of optional features that can be added to this type of system to provide additional performance. These features include adding a battery backup subsystem to maintain power to the critical components should the AC power be lost. There is also an auto dialer that can be installed that would utilize the phone line in the home to alert up to four individual phone numbers that attention is needed in the residence due to a water problem.

Contact Nick or Norm at Gusher Busters at 631-EAT-DIRT or email them at gusherbusters@optonline.net for more information.