Had a similar issue myself, but mine was with dust rather than being bumped. Installed a fancy sensor setup thinking it'd catch leaks early, but didn't realize how quickly they attract dust bunnies behind appliances. Went to test it one weekend—dead silent. Pulled out the fridge and found layers of dust and pet hair blocking the sensor. Luckily no leaks yet, but definitely made me skeptical about relying solely on tech solutions.
Honestly, your tenant probably didn't even notice nudging it. It's easy to miss stuff like that when you're busy or distracted. Good reminder though that even the best sensors aren't foolproof unless you're regularly checking them. Guess it comes down to balancing convenience with good old-fashioned manual checks every now and then...
Yeah, sensors can be tricky like that. Makes me wonder—do manufacturers even test these things in real-world conditions? Dust and pet hair seem like pretty common household issues you'd think they'd account for. Had a similar experience with smoke detectors going off randomly due to dust buildup. Guess tech is helpful, but nothing beats a quick manual check every now and then... Glad you caught it before any leaks happened though.
Yeah, totally relate to the frustration with sensors. Had a similar issue with my water leak detector—thought it was faulty at first, but turns out dust had clogged it up. I ended up setting a reminder every couple months to give it a quick clean and test. It's a bit of a hassle, but better than waking up to a flooded basement at 3 AM... Glad you caught yours early too, plumbing surprises are no joke.
"I ended up setting a reminder every couple months to give it a quick clean and test. It's a bit of a hassle, but better than waking up to a flooded basement at 3 AM..."
Good call on the regular checks. Honestly, I'm still skeptical about how reliable these sensors really are. I had one installed when I moved into my first home last year, thinking it'd give me peace of mind. Well, it did the opposite—kept going off randomly at weird hours, and every time I'd rush downstairs in panic mode only to find... nothing.
Eventually figured out it was placed too close to the water heater and condensation was triggering false alarms. Moved it slightly away, and it's been quieter since then (knock on wood). But now I'm always second-guessing if it'll actually alert me when something serious happens or if it'll just cry wolf again.
Also learned the hard way that relying solely on sensors isn't enough. Had a slow drip under my kitchen sink that went unnoticed for weeks because the sensor didn't pick it up—too small of a leak apparently. Ended up with warped cabinet flooring and mold starting to form... not fun.
Now I make it a habit to visually inspect under sinks and around appliances every month or so. Yeah, it's tedious, but I've accepted that homeownership is basically just constant vigilance against water damage and other sneaky disasters.
Glad you caught your issue early though—burst pipes at 2 AM sound like an absolute nightmare scenario.
"Honestly, I'm still skeptical about how reliable these sensors really are."
Totally get the skepticism, but tbh I've had pretty good luck with mine. The trick seems to be placement and quality—gotta shell out a bit extra for decent ones. I have a few around my rentals, and they've saved me more than once. That said, nothing beats a quick eyeball check regularly... sensors are great, but they won't catch every drip or slow leak. Learned that lesson the hard way too!
