Understanding Modes

Learn about Home, Away, and Standby modes and how to customize them for your household.

What Are Modes?

Modes control how aggressively PlumBuddy monitors your water and when it takes action. Think of modes as different levels of alertness. Each mode adjusts the flow rate threshold and timer that determine when the valve shuts off automatically.

PlumBuddy has three modes: Home, Away, and Standby. You can switch between them at any time from the dashboard, and you can customize the settings for each mode to match your household’s needs.

Home Mode

Home Mode is the default for everyday living. PlumBuddy watches your water flow and shuts off the valve automatically if it detects a potential leak, but the thresholds are set high enough to allow normal household water use without interruption.

When to Use Home Mode

Use Home Mode whenever people are home and using water normally. This is the mode your system should be in most of the time. Showers, washing machines, dishwashers, and garden hoses all work fine in Home Mode because the flow rate threshold and timer are set for typical residential use.

How It Protects You

In Home Mode, PlumBuddy looks for flow that exceeds your threshold for longer than your timer allows. For example, if your threshold is set to 8 gallons per minute and your timer is set to 30 minutes, a normal shower (2-3 GPM for 15 minutes) will not trigger a shutoff. But a burst pipe (10+ GPM running continuously) will trigger the timer and shut off your water automatically.

Away Mode

Away Mode is designed for when nobody is home. It uses lower flow rate thresholds so even small leaks are caught quickly. If you are going to work for the day, leaving for a weekend trip, or heading out on vacation, switch to Away Mode before you go.

When to Use Away Mode

  • Going to work for the day
  • Weekend trips
  • Vacations or extended travel
  • Any time the house will be unoccupied for more than a few hours

How It Protects You

In Away Mode, any unexpected water flow triggers an immediate alert. The thresholds are lower than Home Mode because nobody should be running water. A slow drip from a failing supply line or a toilet that starts running will get flagged quickly. The valve closes automatically if flow continues beyond a short grace period.

Standby Mode

Standby Mode pauses automatic shutoff. Water flows freely with no intervention from PlumBuddy. Monitoring continues in the background, but the system will not shut off your water no matter what it detects.

When to Use Standby Mode

  • Filling a swimming pool or hot tub
  • Running irrigation or sprinklers for an extended period
  • Having plumbing work done on your home
  • Any situation where you expect high or unusual water use and do not want the system to intervene

Important Note About Standby Mode

While Standby Mode is active, your home is not protected by automatic shutoff. If a real leak occurs during Standby, PlumBuddy will still send you an alert, but it will not close the valve on its own. Remember to switch back to Home or Away Mode when you are done with the activity that required Standby.

How to Switch Modes

  1. Open the PlumBuddy app.
  2. On the dashboard, tap the current mode indicator on your valve card.
  3. Select the mode you want to switch to.
  4. The change takes effect immediately.

How to Customize Mode Settings

Each mode has its own flow rate threshold and timer. You can adjust these to match your household.

  1. Open the PlumBuddy app.
  2. Long-press on any mode to open its settings.
  3. Adjust the flow rate threshold (the gallons-per-minute limit).
  4. Adjust the timer (how long flow must exceed the threshold before shutoff).
  5. Save your changes.

Tips for Customizing

  • Start with the defaults. PlumBuddy ships with sensible settings for most homes. Use them for a week or two before making adjustments.
  • Lower thresholds for Away Mode. Since nobody should be using water, set the threshold low (1-2 GPM) with a short timer (5-10 minutes).
  • Raise thresholds for Home Mode if you get false alarms. If your washing machine or shower triggers shutoffs, increase the threshold or extend the timer.