We are lucky enough not to have experienced any serious flooding in our home (well, there was that one time in our first flat when Ben drilled through the mains water pipe, and I had to hold a towel tightly around the pipe for over half an hour while he tried to locate the stop cock, but let’s not talk about that, ok?). But the damage caused by a leak – whether thanks to a burst or leaking pipe or a faulty appliance like a washing machine – can be extensive and expensive, and I’m definitely keen to find a way to guard against it. Step up, the new Grohe Sense.
What is Grohe Sense?
This smart little gadget is basically an early warning system that alerts you as soon as it detects water where it shouldn’t be in your home and alerts you immediately by sounding an alarm and sending a message direct to your mobile phone.
How does it work?
It’s a small device (with a sleek, minimalist white design). It’s super-easy to set it up and link it to the Grohe app on your smartphone. Then you, and place it in an area where water damage could occur. The sensor detects leaks on the floor, as well as checking temperature (for frost risk) and humidity, and alerts you if something’s wrong. Then it emits a beeping sound, pulses red, and sends a push notification to your phone. If you want to install the device in a difficult-to-reach spot (like under the washing machine or the bath), there’s an extension set (available separately) that you can use to do this.
I thought the Grohe Sense would be tricky to set up, but it took me less than five minutes. I popped in the batteries, installed the app and filled in a few key details, linked up the device following the set-up guide on the app and popped it on the floor in our bathroom. Of course I couldn’t resist testing it out, so I ‘spilled’ some water and the alarm and push notification came through as soon as the water reached the device. I even got the twins to be on ‘spilling water duty’ while I was out in the garden, and voila, my phone alerted me when it happened. And I’d get that status alert even if we were away from the house when the leak occurred.
It’s great to have an added sense of security when it comes to water damage potential. The stats are pretty high when it comes to cases of water damage (54% of households have experiences mains-related water damage according to one consumer survey), so I reckon we’ve been lucky so far, and now we can rely less on luck, and more on detection and a quick response.
Disclosure: This post is written in collaboration with Grohe, but all opinions and content are my own.
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