Disaster Averted: Smartly Preventing Major Water Damage in Your Home

Just inside 14 months ago, my family and I came home after six hours away, only to discover water cascading out our front door. Our entire downstairs was under a foot-deep flood. We scrambled to shut off the house water, and sloshed our way to the source of the problem: A tiny plastic piece connecting a toilet to its water supply line had cracked. That’s it. Hundreds of gallons of water had been shooting out, causing an ungodly amount of damage, all because a 25-cent piece failed. Some 62 Marriott nights, construction-crew days, and piles of paperwork later, we moved back into the house. The experience has completely transformed me, and not necessarily for the better.