FloodStop Washing Machine Leak Detector Kit with Automatic Water Shut-Off and Visual/Audible Alarms, 3/4" 90deg, Hot & Cold Valves

Great product. Like many others who have bought this item, we have our washing machine on the top floor of our house. We have an older machine that sounds like a SpaceX rocket about to take off every time we do laundry, so it always worried me that I might one day come home to see my house flooded and recreating that scene in Jumanji, with water flowing down the stairs and giant spiders attempting to kill a ten year old boy. I don't even have a son, which makes it that much more worrisome! In all seriousness, this product works well. Super easy to install. The pad is so sensitive that when I touched it with my bare hands, the moisture alone from my fingers set off the alarm and shut off the pipes. I was also profusely sweating at the time thinking about Jumanji, but that's beside the point. The alarm sounds intermittently until you manually re-open the pipes via the control panel, which is good to know in case it ever shuts off while we're away. Also, it has a battery backup system that runs off 4 AA batteries, which is great in case the power goes out. One thing to note: our washer/dryer area only had one plug (not a standard double outlet), so we had to get a multi-outlet adapter before installing. Just wanted to point that out because it was a pain to have to pull out the machines and set everything up, only to realize we were missing something crucial. Just wanted to give a heads up for everyone to avoid this problem, in case you were hiring a plumber or something to install it for you. Overall, excellent product. I made a note to check the system every 3 months or so and test the strips and mechanism. If I ever run into any issues, I'll update this review accordingly.

I have this on both washing machines in my house, one upstairs where I live and one downstairs in the rental apt. I originally put it on the upstairs one because I added w/d connections in a walk in closet in the spare bedroom. The house was not designed for the w/d in the closet, so there is no drain if there is a leak. I searched for solutions and this was it. I put a big drain pan under the washer and then installed this on the water outlets. It gives me peace of mind if there is a leak, it will shut off and not completely destroy the floors/ceiling on floor below. I added one to rental between renters to protect those floors as well. I recently steam cleaned the floor near the sensor and it set it right off.. I was glad to know with even just a little water, it did its job!

My washing machine is on the 2nd floor. I had 1 issue with water leaking and ruining downstairs ceiling. I purchased this and it works. Had a minor leak and alarm went off and it saved a disaster. Not hard to install. I definitely recommend.

I just recently received and installed this product, so here are my preliminary impressions: 1) Overall function: works perfectly, tested repeatedly and looked inside to see valve closing/opening. Even a dash of moisture shuts the valves off - 5 stars 2) The valves are very well designed and sturdy, including the harness - 5 stars 3) The controller and connectors need strain relief. The buttons are finicky/sticky but work. Still, major redesign needed on the controller end, simply because this is a product that cannot afford to fail on being accidentally bumped, or wires snagged etc. - 2 stars 4) Installation was a breeze. I used different screws/anchors, because I had a different situation, but the included hardware should work for most. It installed in less than 20 minutes. I will however, at a later point, put wiremold wire tracks and organize the wires some more. This will also provide some more strain relief and prefent accidental snagging. Installation - 5 stars 5) Customer service: When I first installed the valves, one of them wasn't working. I emailed Scott at OnSitePro - he immediately sent me another valve, no questions asked. 5 stars. So, overall rating: 4 stars. Will update based on experience as I continue using. Additional comments: 1) Might be a good idea to install high up on the wall so you can't reach it (bump it) easily. 2) Organize the wires in straight lines, horizontal or vertical - use wiremold if you want. Alternatively, you can fish them inside walls as long as you don't have any high voltage in those wall cavities. The low voltage used in this device shouldn't cause any heating issues with in-wall use. Use zip ties or twist ties. Don't leave them hanging where they can get caught in things and pull off. Provide your own "strain relief" by making a loop with a (not too tight) twist-tie right before joints/connections. 3) I wanted to add the furman like others have, but my washer is a 220v machine, and I am still working on an equivalent solution for that. 4)As an added precaution, I am using floodchek hoses. *Update* Jan 10th 2015 This started beeping and shut the water off. I thought it was a false alarm, turned the valves back open but they wouldn't open, and kept alarming. This was at night, so I muted it and went to bed. Next morning, I checked, and sure enough, my washing machine pan had a tiny bit of water at the bottom. Turns out the gasket on the inlet hose (floodchek! didn't expect that!) for warm water had started leaking. Although this wasn't a major leak, and I would probably have noticed as more water pooled in the pan, it was a relief to see that it worked as it is supposed to. I tested both valves when I was fixing the gasket leaks and both were still working. Strain relief is still an issues, obviously. I have heard the new version solves this problem, but my washer and dryer are in such a tight closet that removing them to uninsall and reinstall the new one isn't worth the effort for me at this point while the old one is still working.

I've had one house damaged by a leaking HW heater, and seen another severely damaged by an upstairs washer hose that let go while no one was home. (Can you say, "Waterfall Out The Front Door and $35,000 in Damage?") I've installed two of these and another unit for the hot water heater as well. The motor driven valves definitely shut off the water, and when tested, the water sensors seem to work perfectly and activate the shut-off feature, just as they should. I guess I'll not really know for sure until the day I get a leak and they save my tail (or don't), but I'm pretty confident that one day these will pay off in real money saved in the way of averted damage. For now, the dividends are just in ongoing peace of mind. Extremely easy install on the washer btw. The HW heater unit required sweat fitting into the 3/4" supply line, but also a piece of cake. I will say that the supplied, adhesive backed Velcro pad, for attaching the control to the wall, was absolutely useless. With the batteries in it, the box is just too heavy and it just kept falling off the wall. Best to just put in the anchors and use the screws (Supplied with unit). Then it stays where it belongs.

Update: My Floodstop units have been in use for over six years now. They still work just fine. I previously installed a Floodstop single-valve system for my dishwasher. It's been in use for over six months without any problems. When I remodeled my laundry room, I decided to install this dual-valve system for my washing machine. This system has two motorized valves (one for cold water, and one for hot). A single sensor sits on the floor near the washer (if you need to cover a larger area, you can purchase additional sensors, and daisy chain them together). It only takes a drop of water to set the system off and close the valves. It's not hard to install. The unit uses AC power (includes an AC adapter), but also works on four (4) AA batteries (not included), to assure that the system works even if the power fails. A red light and a beeping sound let you know that the system has been activated. Floodstop also sells an optional phone dialer for this system (it calls you to let you know that it went off). To keep the valves from sticking due to mineral buildup, the system automatically opens and closes the valves once a month (you can also open and close the valves yourself for testing). So far, I haven't had any problems. It's nice to know that if there's a ruptured hose or a water leak somewhere, nothing's going to get flooded.

This product is a very good idea. The self shutoff hoses that are now available have problems with stopping the flow when they shouldn't, which this device solves. Other water sensing electronically controlled shut off valves are available, but cost a lot more than the Floodstop. But the Floodstop is not perfect. The biggest problem is that the unit is very, very cheaply made. It's a Chinese import, and smacks of it. This is the sort of product that needs to be seriously reliable and thus made to a high level of quality. It's not. The cables and connectors are as cheap as possible, the control unit is in a flimsy housing, and the valves themselves are not very rugged. As an example, where the interconnecting wires terminate to the cheap plug-in connector at the controller unit, there is no "strain relief". A little flexing there will cause the wires to break. Another example is the plastic housing that protects the solenoid that operates the water valves. Again, the wires are not strain relieved, so that any accidental tugging or excessive vibration are likely to cause the soldered connection to break. I may sound too critical, but I'm an engineer and would never design a device that is supposed to be "high reliability" like this - cable and connecor issues are huge sources of failure. If any problems occur with the wires of the Floodstop, the user won't know about it and the thing will simply not work when it's needed. It wouldn't have taken much for the unit to be designed to be much more robust. There are some other sensing shut off valves on the market that cost considerably more. I appreciate that this one is priced lower, but Floodstop cheaped out much too far IMO. There are a couple of other things I didn't like. The cable length works for many installations, but it's too short for others. There isn't an optional longer wire available, and you can't buy the connectors separately (so I was told by the distributor) to allow you to make your own, nor will they provide a part number for the connector. If we had a number, the connectors could probably be purchased from one of the online electronics hobby stores or an industrial supplier. You can still do it, but you'll have to match up the connector. It looks like a common low cost part. It just seems that the it's a bigger hassle than it needs to be if you need a longer cable. Personally, I don't like wall transformers for this type of device. Washers and dryers (especially the newer styles) vibrate a lot. If the wall transformer falls out of the socket (and we've all had this happen) then the system is dead. It would cost more, but building the power supply for the system into the control box and having a simple line cord that plugged into the wall outlet would be a more reliable configuration. The plumbing connections on this are designed with a female hose thread and washer on the inlet side of each valve and a male hose thread on the outlet. This is clearly intended to connect to your existing washing machine valve, which is fine. However, if you are plumbing up a new installation, you might well prefer that the inlet be 1/2" pipe thread, to get rid of the rubber washer. Rubber washers are much more likely themselves to leak than pipe thread. If your inlet side hose gasket starts to leak, and the valves automatically shut off... you will still be leaking, because this washer is located upstream of the shutoff valve. Unfortunately, the hose connection on the inlet of the valves supplied with this kit are integral with the valve -- you are stuck with them. The manufacturer does offer other valves, but not in a dual kit that you need for a laundry application. So, if you need anything other than hose inlet connections, call the distributor. The guy I spoke to said that they "may" be able to configure a kit with different valves -- although if they could, I have no idea what such a "custom" kit would cost. On the positive side, the device does seem to work well. My sensor took more water than I thought it would to trigger a shutoff, but that's probably a good thing to avoid nuisance tripping. I did get a second sensor. The sensors are pretty simple printed circuit boards. Like others, I purchased a Furman MP20 so that in the event of a drain leak, the power to the washer will shut off and avoid pumping soapy water all onto the laundry room floor. In my experience, drain leaks are at least as much of a problem as burst supply hoses, although obviously a supply hose that bursts will flood your house until someone discovers the leak. In any case, I think a REALLY well designed device would include the power relay as well, so that you wouldn't have to pay the (significant) price for the Furman unit. As an option, you can do the exact same function as the Furman with X10 home automation components for much less money. I expect the Furman is more reliable than the X10, and that's why I chose the Furman... but I have no real data to back that up other than reading internet comments on X10 and Furman. Again, it's a great idea. Remember, this thing will probably be dormant for 5 or 10 years before you need it... but then, when there's a leak, it needs to absolutely work. After getting this, I hope it will work when I need it, but am not confident. Next time, I will be looking at one of the other higher-end water sensing shut off systems... preferably made in the USA and designed to be more rugged and with a long lifetime. Wish I understood that this was a cheap import before buying. A one year warranty seems kind of pointless for a device like this. A safety system, like this one, that's not designed to hold up for a long time could be a false economy.

I've had mine installed now for 3 years. It just paid for itself. Was getting ready for a nap when I hear an alarm go off upstairs. I go upstairs following the sound to the utility room. I can see water in the drain pan so I check the hoses behind the washer, but no leaks. The washing machine is a front loader, so we leave the door open to dry between uses. I look inside and the tub is full and slowly leaking out the front. Looks like one of the water inlet valves didn't fully close after we used on the weekend. I've got new valves on order!

Excellent product. Very pleased with it. Our laundry is on our second floor, and if the washing machine sprung a leak, it could potentially cause major water damage to the main floor ceiling. But thanks to this invention, any leak would automatically shut off the water at its source and prevent any water damage. Anyone with laundry facilities on the second floor should have this. We also installed a drip pan from Home Depot under the washing machine for added protection.

Nothing like closing the barn door after the horses got out! I found this product after the hookup hose for my washing machine in our main floor laundry room ruptured. Yup! One hell of a mess including the ceilings in the basement. Over $20,000 in damage. Although this product is expensive it only has to prevent what happened to me to more than pay for itself. I highly recommend it and also changing your hook up hoses to the washing machine every 5 years. 👍