I realized I could set that up myself because I’m already pull data from my OpenSprinkler irrigation controller and the Flume device has an API as well.

Most people would stop there, but Tim also mentioned that some irrigation systems will integrate with Flume to detect abnormal usage. It’s not as nice as the systems that will automatically shut off the water, but it’s considerably cheaper and I have enough neighbors that I could call to have them shut off my water if I wasn’t home. For example, any water that runs for more than 2 hours will send me an alert, or if I have water flowing at more than 6 gallons per minute for 15 minutes, I’ll get an alert. I can now get minute by minute water usage reports and I can set up rules for alerting me to water leaks. That connects to a WiFi bridge in the house and from there the data gets sent to Flume where it feeds the app on my phone.

Most meters work with a magnet that spins as the water flows so this device can read that magnetic field and understand how much water is flowing through. After a little research, I was hooked and thanks to the magic of Amazon Prime, it was on my doorstep when I woke up the next morning. What about the ice maker supply line? Or the various toilets? I thought about getting a bunch of water sensors and having them around the house, but Tim mentioned the smart meter from Flume Water. Our existing hoses were ~10 years old so it felt good to replace them.īut that only helped the washer. I made sure to get specific high efficiency hoses that could supply water quickly enough to our washer. The first step was replacing my rubber hoses with some nice braided hoses. This is something I already think about from time to time and I was finally prompted to take action. A few days later, a coworker had to rush home because one of his washer water supply hoses had sprung a leak. A few weeks ago, I watched an Ask This Old House video about laundry room leaks.

Flume water monitor