I have a leak sensor in my basement with the probe reaching near my sump pump pit, to alert me if my pump fails and water starts to overflow. The probe itself has never touched the water (pump hasn’t failed yet), though there is sometimes condensation (not enough to trigger a false alarm except once).
Recently, the probe gave repeated false alarms (4 in 8 days). There isn’t even condensation on the probe, it’s perfectly dry. I looked at it more closely after the forth false alarm and noticed the connectors show signs of corrosion. How do I clean this of to have the probe functional again, and importantly, how do I prevent this from happening again?
Welcome back @Nerdy,
I have the exact same use case. Probe is down in the sump and sensor is at the top.
I have notoriously hard water, which happens to scale pretty much everything, even condensation. I clean my probe off with Lime-a-way once a month just for good measure.
Keep in mind, the probe casing is not “water tight”. You could be getting moisture in around the casing seam since its in a always wet place.
You could also try pulling out the probe for a few hours cleaning with some alcohol to dry up any excess.
Curious to know how it goes for you.
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Thank you for your comment @R.Good. I followed your advice and cleaned my probe with white vinegar (rubbing with a Q-tip). So far so good, I haven’t had another false alarm… Fingers crossed!
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Awesome, white vinegar is a great option too. I use that for the ice makers… then it makes me hungry for cabbage and noodles 
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