One of the practical topics I wrote about in Home Attitude was water leak detection. For a small investment, a home owner with a healthy home attitude can prevent expensive losses due to water damage. In the book, I described $25,000 in damage caused by an ice maker line breaking free from the back of our refrigerator.

If you read the reviews of Home Attitude, you will see reviewers liked the practical aspect of this type of home automation. A reader in Pennsylvania sent me some feedback. He chose the Samsung SmartThings hub and Samsung Water Leak Sensors plus a Wi-Fi access point. He said, “It was easy  to install and get running.” He went on to say, “I placed the water sensors in the basement and had no problem connecting with the Wi-Fi access point which is on our main floor. I water tested one of the sensors, and it worked great. Once in contact with the water, my iPhone beeped with a text message within seconds. It sent repeat alerts every hour until I dismissed it. It’s a great system.”

The do-it-yourself approach discussed in Home Attitude helped the reader get started. He told his neighbor, who travels away from home a lot, about his home attitude experience. “I think he will get the same system since they have had water problems with every house they have owned.”

Starting out with leak sensors is a good way to begin a home attitude. The logical follow-on would be to have a plumber add a solenoid to the water main. If a leak occurs, the homeowner would be notified, but in case he or she is away, the solenoid would be triggered and shut off the water supply.