Water leaks and water damage are one of my biggest fears as a homeowner. With hardwood floors throughout my house, even a small water leak could turn into a massive repair bill and a huge inconvenience to get them repaired. A slow drip from a sink can quickly cause thousands of dollars (or tens of thousands) in damage to your floors and cabinets. If I had to choose one smart home category that actually gives me peace of mind, it would be the ones that prevent disasters. In 2026, the water leak sensor is still the most critical piece of hardware in my HomeKit setup.
HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
Why HomeKit for water leak sensors?
With HomeKit integration, the sensor can instantly notify you on your iPhone or Apple Watch whenever a leak is initially detected. It can even break through your Do Not Disturb or Focus schedules to make sure you’re aware of it. If you are not home, you will still receive the alert immediately. This gives you a better chance of stopping a leak from causing a major headache and a costly repair situation.
Another significant benefit is that you can mix and match water leak sensors from multiple vendors, allowing them to be part of the same automations, alerting system, and more.
The best water leak sensors for HomeKit / Apple Home
While the category (especially for HomeKit) doesn’t have as many options as smart plugs or light bulbs, three distinct options stand out for HomeKit users that are generally in stock right now. Each has a specific strength depending on where you need to place it.
Meross Smart Water Sensor
The Meross Smart Water Sensor is small, battery-powered, and has three metal prongs on the bottom to detect water. Because it relies on a low-power connection to its own hub, the battery life is generally excellent. It is a great option if you need to buy three or four sensors to throw under every sink in the house without breaking the bank. It does require a hub, but it’s included with the initial purchase. This one is low-cost enough that you should have one under every sink.
You can buy it from Amazon.
Aqara Water Leak Sensor T1
Aqara has been a fan favorite in the HomeKit community for years because their hardware is reliable, fast, and incredibly low cost. I’ve been using their gear since 2020. The Water Leak Sensor T1 is tiny, so it’s ideal for sliding into tight spaces where other sensors might not fit, like underneath a dishwasher or the back corner of a toilet.
It uses Zigbee 3.0, so you will need an Aqara Hub to bridge it into HomeKit. However, if you already have an Aqara setup, this is a no-brainer purchase. It uses a CR2032 battery that lasts for up to two years. It is IP67 rated, meaning it’ll still work fine after it detects a leak.
You can buy it from Amazon.
Eve Water Guard
The Eve Water Guard takes an entirely different approach than Meross or Aqara in terms of design. Instead of a small puck that detects water at a single point, the Eve Water Guard uses a 6.5-foot cable. The entire length of the cable acts as a sensor, so it’ll catch quite a bit.
This design makes it the ultimate choice for laundry rooms or wrapping around a water heater. With a puck sensor, water has to flow exactly to the spot where you placed it. With Eve, if water touches any part of that 6-foot cable, you’ll be notified. It is also one of the few sensors that plugs into a wall outlet, so you never have to worry about batteries dying. The downside is that it may be more difficult to use under a sink unless you already have an outlet nearby.
It supports Thread, acting as a Full Thread Device (FTD) to boost your network, and it has a built-in 100dB siren as well. It is more expensive than the other devices, but it does support Thread and never requires a battery swap. The downside is that you are more limited in where it’ll fit.
You can buy it from Amazon.
Shelly Flood Gen4
The Shelly Flood Gen4 takes a different approach to water detection by using a 6-foot sensing cable instead of a single contact point, allowing you to wrap it around appliances like water heaters for superior coverage. Unlike previous Shelly devices that required a bridge, the new Gen4 is Matter-native, making it incredibly easy to onboard directly into HomeKit. It runs on standard AA batteries with a two-year life on the batteries. It offers customizable alarm modes, making it a perfect set-and-forget solution for basements, laundry rooms, or vacation properties where a standard puck sensor might miss the mark. I’ll have a full review of it next week.
You can buy it from Amazon.
Wrap up
Truthfully, a water leak sensor paired with HomeKit might be the single most important addition to your smart home setup. Water damage can occur quickly, and without a sensor in place, you may not notice it until it is too late and you’re gonna have a major repair hassle. I’ve used all of these products and love them for different reasons. I’ve written about the FIBARO sensor several times, and I still use it, but it’s currently out of stock.
With a HomeKit sensor for detecting water leaks, you will get an instant alert on your iPhone or Apple Watch if water is detected. It can even break through your Do Not Disturb settings to make sure you don’t miss the notification when it matters most.
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