Smoke alarms are an essential safety tool in your home, as they can detect smoke and alert you to a fire before it has the chance to get out of hand. While smoke alarms are generally quite effective, many people still make mistakes when using them or installing them that could potentially put their lives at risk. Here’s some helpful information about smoke alarms that could help keep you safer in your home.
- REPLACE BATTERIES ONCE A YEAR
If you live in an area where fire risk is high, changing the battery every six months is a good idea. If your home has been hit by lightning or as a result of environmental conditions, you may experience corrosion that can make your batteries lose their ability to detect smoke. The problem becomes more prevalent as smoke detectors age and more time elapses between the replacements.
- REPLACE SMOKE ALARMS EVERY 10 YEARS
Some smoke alarms have a ten-year limited warranty, but even eight or nine years over this period isn’t good. If you do go longer than ten years between smoke alarm replacements, you should replace all of your alarms at the same time. You won’t want to risk your life by having one detector go out while another is still in good working order.
- CONSIDER INTERCONNECTING SMOKE ALARMS
If your home has more than one smoke alarm, it might be a good idea to connect them together so that one alarm can sound in both your living and sleeping areas. This will not only save you the cost of having two alarms, but it will also elevate the chances that you’ll get the warning before there is a true fire hazard.
- PROTECTION AGAINST CARBON MONOXIDE
If your home is lacking in air conditioning, carbon monoxide can build up in your home. A smoke detector will not be able to detect carbon monoxide and will not sound. Make sure that you have a detector installed in any room that contains a gas stove, hot water heater, or fireplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends that every bedroom should have a smoke detector.
- NEVER PAINT OVER YOUR ALARMS
Smoke alarms are not alarmed by paint fumes or other particles in the air. They rely on electromagnetic waves, and all other elements will interfere with that signal. The result could be a fire starting without your home being alerted to the danger. The only time you should ever paint over a smoke alarm is if your home has been damaged by a fire, then the paint can keep the smoke from affecting it in an unrecoverable manner.
- ONE SMOKE ALARM IS NOT ENOUGH
The National Fire Protection Association recommends that every home should have a smoke alarm on each floor of the home, including in each bedroom. While this could be more than you need, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If you’re having problems installing smoke alarms throughout your home or if you notice that the batteries are dead on one of them, contact a fire alarm company immediately.
Smoke alarms do their job, but they’re not perfect and it’s something you should keep in mind if you want to be safe. Taking a few moments to read the information here could prove to be more beneficial than you think it will be.