HomeBuying Guide5 Best Water Leak Detectors (2023): Smart Water, Temperature, and Humidity Sensors

5 Best Water Leak Detectors (2023): Smart Water, Temperature, and Humidity Sensors

February 14, 2023

5 Best Water Leak Detectors (2023): Smart Water, Temperature, and Humidity Sensors

  • Photograph: Eve

    Best for Apple HomeKit

    Eve Water Guard

    With HomeKit support, this is a good choice for iPhone owners with a home hub (an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad). HomeKit is also ideal if you have privacy concerns because you can be certain no data will be shared with third parties. There is an Eve app, but you can also view the Water Guard and set notifications directly through the Apple Home app. It plugs directly into an outlet and has a 6.5-foot cable that senses any water and immediately alerts you on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, wherever you are, provided you have a working home hub. It also flashes red and has a 100-decibel siren. You can review alarm history, test or mute alarms, and update device firmware in the Eve app.

    The Eve Water Guard only detects water, but the sensing cable worked well in my testing, triggering quick alerts and covering a large area. It needs a power outlet, which also limits your placement options, but you never need to worry about battery life. The obvious drawbacks are the complete lack of support for Android, the fact that you need a home hub for remote alerts and management, and the relatively high price. But if you already have a HomeKit setup, this is a solid pick. You can also add 6.5-foot sensing cable extensions ($20 each) up to a total length of 500 feet.

    $100 at Amazon
  • Photograph: Monoprice

    Other Leak Detectors We Like

    Some Alternatives

    Stitch by Monoprice Water Leak Sensor for $25: This affordable water leak detector has a design that’s similar to our top pick. The main body is round, with metal feet to detect water pooling, and it slots into a bracket for wall-mounting. It comes with a coin-sized plug-in extension that stretches up to 3.8 feet. Both the main detector and extension were quick to sound the alarm and send notifications to my phone when wet (though the on-device alarm is not very loud). It takes a single CR2 battery, displays remaining power in the app, and alerts you when it’s time to change batteries. Unfortunately, the app is basic and poorly translated, you have to dry the detector to stop the alarm, and it took too long to warn me when it went offline (weirdly, the offline detector is toggled off by default in the app settings, so I had to switch it on). You can get this a bit cheaper by buying direct from Monoprice (though it’s out of stock at the time of writing).

    D-Link DCH-S161 Wi-Fi Water Leak Sensor for $50: This wall-mounted sensor takes two AA batteries and features a sensor with a 5.9-foot cable. Alerts were reliable during my testing, with push notifications coming through to my phone swiftly. The on-device siren is around 90 decibels. Mercifully, you can switch it off via the button on top. It will also warn you when the battery needs to be changed or if there’s a problem with your Wi-Fi connection. There’s support for Google Assistant and IFTTT. This sensor may be tough to find (discontinued). We plan to test its successor, the D-Link DCH-S1621KT ($80), very soon.

  • Photograph: Swann

    Leak Detectors We Dislike

    You Can Do Better

    We did not have a great experience with every water leak detector we tested.

    Wasserstein Smart Temperature, Humidity and Water Sensor for $20: This is great value, but I only got it working by switching to the iPhone app after multiple failed attempts to connect with the Android app. Once added via iPhone, the sensor appeared in the Android app too. But the device made a barely perceptible continuous scratching sound and seemed to disconnect from Wi-Fi quite frequently. Some users have reported similar Wi-Fi issues in online reviews. It’s a shame because this affordable sensor, which takes two AA batteries, was one of the fastest to alert when wet, with a loud siren sound and instant notifications to both apps. It can also track temperature and humidity.

    Swann Leak Alert Sensor for $25: While this battery-powered water detector (two AAAs) is affordable, I had a terrible time setting it up. Your phone must be on 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi, but even then it took me multiple attempts to connect. Frustratingly, you must remove the screw panel to reset it because there’s no option in the app. Alerts came through to my phone around a minute after I soaked the sensor, but the Swann app is slow and clunky.

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