When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. These are the smart devices I can't live without My household would fall apart without these smart gadgets up and running. I've been covering smart home and security products for years, and I've written about and reviewed scores of smart devices. Yet I can count on one hand (plus an extra finger or two) the number of smart devices that my family and I actually depend on. Sure, I have plenty of smart gadgets in my house that are nice-to-haves.

The Flo by Moen Smart Water Leak Detector is a reliable gadget to help protect your home from water damage. Flo by Moen's Smart Water Leak Detector is the very best smart water leak detector we've ever tested, beating out our previous No. 1 pick, the Honeywell Home Water Leak Detector. While the two detectors are comparable, Moen is the more affordable of the two and, most of all, we were impressed by the near-instantaneous alerts (an imperative function of a smart leak detector) the Moen leak sensor sent to both of our iOS and Android devices, as well as via email. The Flo by Moen Smart Water Leak Detector passed all of our tests with flying colors and even continued to function after being submerged in water during our final round of testing. When a leak is detected, the sensor begins playing an alarm sound and flashes red, in addition to sending timely alerts in a matter of seconds. However, what it lacks in voice-control capabilities, it makes up for with a beautifully designed app full of useful data insights. The sensor also keeps track of the temperature and humidity within your home, which can help with moisture control.

D-Link is expanding its mydlink smart home ecosystem, adding new indoor and outdoor smart plugs for lighting and small appliance control, as well as a battery-powered water sensor to detect leaks in your home before they can do serious damage. All three devices are controlled via Wi-Fi, so they don't require a smart-home hub to operate. And since they're all compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, they can be controlled with voice commands, too. They're also compatible with IFTTT (If This Then That, the free web-based service that enables a device or application to trigger an action in another product). The D-Link DSP-W118 Indoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug can't dim a lamp, but it can turn lights and small appliances on and off.