Smoke detectors are incredibly simple devices that have saved so many lives. Unfortunately, not providing a few minutes of attention to your smoke detectors on a regular basis could be putting you at risk. It’s important to learn a few details about your detectors so that you know how to keep you, your family, and your home safe.
Here are some simple tips to follow for properly maintaining your smoke detectors:
- Once a month, press the ‘test’ button on your smoke detectors to make sure they work. Pressing the button should cause an alarm.
- If after pressing the button you don’t hear an alarm, it may need a battery replacement.
- After replacing the batteries, test it again to ensure that it isn’t the unit itself that is malfunctioning.
- Your smoke detector may not require batteries, but if it isn’t working, then the whole unit may need to be replaced.
- Once every 10 years, you should buy new smoke detectors; the units themselves do not last longer than that.
Smoke detectors are becoming more technologically advanced so that you can monitor the safety of your home from an app on your phone. Installing new detectors has many other benefits, too.
In most situations, when someone dies from a fire at home, the smoke detector has not worked properly. That is such an avoidable situation, and you do not want to risk your life or the life of a loved one from something that is so preventable. Following these simple tips will keep your family safe!