Beginner's guide

How to use MoisturePilot

MoisturePilot watches the soil moisture around your home and explains, in plain language, what's happening and what to do. This guide walks you through everything — no technical experience needed.

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What MoisturePilot does

The soil around a house is always changing — rain makes it wetter, sun and heat dry it out, and watering or a hidden leak can change it too. When one side of a home stays much wetter or drier than the others for a long time, that imbalance can stress the foundation.

Small wireless sensors in the ground around your home measure soil moisture. A small box called a gateway collects those readings and sends them to MoisturePilot. We compare them with the local weather and anything you've told us (like watering), and then give you a simple status: everything's normal, worth watching, needs attention, or urgent — plus what to check and who to call first.

Good to know: MoisturePilot never says your foundation is failing. It points out moisture patterns and the most likely cause, so you can act early — usually with a simple fix.
1

Create your account (phone number)

You sign in with your phone number — no passwords to remember.

  1. 1
    Go to the sign-in page and enter your mobile number.
  2. 2
    Tap “Text me a code.” We send a 6-digit code by text message.
  3. 3
    Type the code in. That's it — if it's your first time, your account is created automatically.
Tip: Just exploring? Use the demo account on the email login page: demo@moisturepilot.com / password123. It comes preloaded with a sample home so you can see everything working.
2

Add a property

A “property” is a home or building you want to monitor. You can add as many as you like.

  1. 1
    From your dashboard, tap “+ Add property.”
  2. 2
    Give it a name (e.g. “Mom's house”) and the street address.
  3. 3
    Enter the latitude and longitude if you have them — this lets us pull the exact local weather. (You can copy these from a maps app by long-pressing the location.)
  4. 4
    Pick the foundation type (slab, pier & beam, etc.) if you know it. Not sure? Leave it as “unknown.”
  5. 5
    Tap Create property. You'll go straight to connecting your gateway.
Good to know: No hardware yet? You can still add a property and explore — it runs in “sample data” mode until a real gateway is connected.
3

Connect your gateway (no cloud account needed)

The gateway is the small box that collects readings from your sensors. You'll tell it to send data straight to MoisturePilot. This takes about 3 minutes and happens in the gateway's own setup app.

  1. 1
    In MoisturePilot, open your property and go to the Gateway tab. Give the gateway a name and tap Create gateway.
  2. 2
    You'll see a box titled “Direct gateway upload.” It lists the exact settings you need, each with a Copy button. Keep this screen handy.
  3. 3
    On your phone, open your gateway's setup app (it's usually called WS View Plus). Select your gateway, then open “Weather Services” or “Customized.”
  4. 4
    Turn the customized upload On and choose protocol Ecowitt. Then copy these values from MoisturePilot into the app:
ProtocolEcowitt
Server / Hostnameportal.moisturepilot.com
Path/api/ingest/ecowitt/…
Port80
Upload interval60 seconds

Save it in the gateway app. Within a minute or two, MoisturePilot's Gateway tab shows a green “● Receiving data” badge and your sensors appear by themselves.

Important: Make sure the gateway has Wi-Fi/internet. The exact Path contains a private code unique to your gateway — copy it from your own screen, don't share it.
Good to know: Prefer to keep your gateway on its own cloud service instead? Open “Advanced: connect via cloud” on the Gateway tab. Most people don't need this — direct upload is simpler.
4

Place & map your sensors

Each sensor watches one spot around the house. Telling MoisturePilot where each one is makes the advice far more accurate.

Where to put the sensors
  1. 1
    Place them about 12–24 inches from the foundation, one on each side of the home.
  2. 2
    Bury them at a consistent depth (around 6–12 inches) so readings are comparable.
  3. 3
    Avoid putting one directly under a downspout (unless you specifically want to watch that spot).
  4. 4
    Snap a photo of each location before you cover it — handy later.
Map them in the app
  1. 1
    Open the property → Sensors tab → Edit sensor map.
  2. 2
    For each sensor, set a friendly name (e.g. “Back Right”) and which side of the house it's on.
  3. 3
    Tap any nearby features that apply — downspout, AC drain, flower bed, plumbing, low spot, tree, etc. These help explain why a reading changes.
  4. 4
    Tap Save sensor map. Done.
Tip: The more you tell us (a downspout here, an AC drain there), the better MoisturePilot can tell the difference between a harmless wet spot and one worth checking.
5

Read your dashboard

Each property has two views. Switch between them with the tabs at the top.

Homeowner view

Plain and simple. A single status, a map of your home with colored sensor dots, “what changed,” “what to check,” a watering tip, and who to call first.

Professional view

For contractors and the curious. Trend charts with a rainfall overlay, side-to-side imbalance, drying rates, a full readings table, and the evidence behind each recommendation.

The Overview tab is a quick summary of both. Tap “↻ Sync now” (top right) any time to pull the latest readings and re-run the analysis.

6

Understand the status colors

Everything uses the same simple, calming scale:

NormalEverything looks balanced. No action needed.
WatchOne area is a little different. Just keep an eye on it.
AttentionA pattern worth checking — we'll suggest what and who.
UrgentSomething may need prompt attention, like a possible leak.

You'll also see a Moisture Balance score (Good / Uneven / Needs Attention). Think of it like a maintenance score — it's about keeping moisture even all around the house, not a verdict on your foundation.

7

Log watering & activities

This is the secret to avoiding false alarms. If you water the lawn, run a soaker hose, clean the gutters, or have drainage work done — tell MoisturePilot. Then when a sensor gets wetter, we know it was intentional and won't mistake it for a leak.

  1. 1
    Open the property → Activity tab → “+ Log activity.”
  2. 2
    Pick what you did (watering, gutters, drainage, mulch, a repair, an observation…).
  3. 3
    Choose which sides of the house it affected and add a note.
  4. 4
    Save. The analysis updates to take it into account.
Tip: Example: you run a soaker hose on the right side every morning. After logging it, MoisturePilot will say “the right side is wetter — this matches your watering schedule” instead of raising an alarm.
8

Alerts & who to call first

When something stands out, MoisturePilot creates an alert in plain English and recommends the best first call:

  • Plumber:moisture rose with no rain, near a plumbing area — a possible slow leak.
  • Drainage contractor:an area stays wet after rain near a downspout or low spot.
  • Foundation contractor / engineer:moisture imbalance together with cracks or sticking doors.
  • Landscaper / irrigation:overwatering or sprinkler overspray on one side.
  • Just monitor:the change is explained by rain or your own watering — no one needed yet.

Open the Alerts tab to see details and tap Acknowledge once you've handled one. Every recommendation includes a confidence level and the evidence behind it.

9

Share a property with family, a realtor, or a manager

More than one person can watch the same home, and one person can watch many homes — perfect for couples, realtors, and property managers.

  1. 1
    Open the property → Access tab.
  2. 2
    Under “Invite someone by phone,” enter their mobile number and pick a role:
Owner / Co-ownerfull access, can share too
Professionalfor a realtor or contractor
Viewercan see, can't change
  1. 1
    Tap Invite. If they already use MoisturePilot, they get access instantly. If not, they get a text — and the moment they sign in with that number, the property appears for them automatically.
Good to know: A realtor or property manager simply collects access to each client's home — they'll see all of them together on one dashboard.
10

What “Verified” means

You'll see a ✓ Verified badge on a property once its gateway starts sending live readings. That's our proof that the monitoring hardware is really at that address — so we know you have the right to monitor it. Anyone you invite inherits access without needing to verify again.

Tip: We deliberately don't use GPS or mailed postcards to verify — having a working device at the property is simpler and more reliable, and it works for remote managers and realtors too.
11

Generate reports

Need something to share or keep on file? Open the Reports tab.

  1. 1
    Homeowner report — a friendly summary: status, what changed, who to call first, weather context.
  2. 2
    Professional report — the detailed version with charts, metrics, and evidence for a contractor or buyer.
  3. 3
    Tap generate, then use your browser's Print → Save as PDF to download or share it.

Glossary (plain definitions)

Sensor — a small wireless probe in the ground that measures how wet the soil is.
Gateway — the little box that collects sensor readings and sends them to MoisturePilot.
Channel — each sensor has a number (CH1, CH2…). We give it a friendly name when you map it.
Baseline — a sensor's normal level. We compare new readings against it to spot real changes.
Imbalance — how different one side of the house is from another — the thing we watch most.
Sync — pulling the latest readings and re-running the analysis. Happens automatically and on demand.
Verified — a property whose gateway is sending live data — proof the hardware is really there.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

My gateway isn't showing “Receiving data.”
Double-check the Server, Path, and Port exactly as shown on the Gateway tab, make sure the gateway has internet, and confirm the protocol is set to “Ecowitt.” Readings can take a minute or two to appear.
A sensor says it's offline or low battery.
The Sensors tab flags low batteries and sensors that haven't reported in a while. Replace the battery or check the sensor is still in place, then tap “Sync now.”
One side is wet but I know why (I watered).
Log it on the Activity tab. MoisturePilot will then treat the change as intentional instead of raising an alert.
Does this mean my foundation is damaged?
No. MoisturePilot describes moisture patterns and likely causes so you can act early. It never diagnoses foundation failure — that's for a qualified professional to inspect.
How often does it update?
Your gateway uploads about once a minute, and the analysis refreshes automatically. You can also tap “Sync now” any time.

Ready to start?

Add your first property and connect a gateway — or explore the demo.

Create your accountTry the demo