If you are currently engaging in a bit of house cleaning, here’s a handy tip for you: Check out your smoke detector to make sure it’s in proper working order! Were you aware that over 350,000 house fires take place each and every year, with thousands of fatalities as the result? In order to ensure that your home remains safe, it’s vitally important that you pay attention to the state of your smoke alarm, so as not to get burned if your luck turns.
Replace Your Smoke Detector’s Batteries On A Regular Basis
It’s essential to replace the batteries in your smoke detector at least once a year. If you are just moving into a new home, check the smoke detectors immediately. Occasionally, you’ll come across a unit where the batteries have been in there so long that they have corroded to the point of becoming stuck to the receptacles. At this point, you’ve got no option but to throw the whole thing out and replace it as soon as possible.
Get On A Monthly Smoke Detector Testing Schedule
It’s a good idea to subject all of the smoke detectors in your home to a monthly reliability test. If they fail to respond in the correct manner, don’t bother tinkering with them. If they’ve failed once, they’ll fail again. Replace them immediately.
It’s also important to note that smoke detectors are not designed to last forever. They do have a definite expiration date, which is printed quite clearly on the model. If it’s out of date, junk it and get a new one.
Be Very Careful Where And How You Install A New Smoke Detector
Always make sure that you follow the installation instructions to the letter when installing a new smoke detector. An improperly installed smoke detector is as useless as a broken one when it comes to having the ability to save your life in an emergency.
There’s also the matter of knowing just where to install your smoke detector. Places such as kitchens, laundry rooms, and fireplaces are a bad choice to install a smoke detector, because of their propensity to generate heat, smoke, and fumes. For example, you don’t want to set off a false alarm every time you accidentally burn something on your stove, or put the laundry in the dryer.
It’s also important to keep smoke detectors away from air vents or cooling fans that could blow the smoke of a fire away from the smoke detector, thus rendering it unable to detect a fire in its early stages. Finally, never install a smoke detector in an area where the temperature is guaranteed to fall below 32 degrees or over 100 degrees, since these extreme temperatures may cause them to malfunction.
These are only a few of the important safety precautions that you should adopt when purchasing, installing, and replacing your smoke detector. It’s important to keep up to date on these issues so that you won’t be caught unprepared in the event of an emergency.
All Phase Electric
2340 Bruner Lane Suit 100
Fort Myers, FL 33912
1-866-348-3781
239-939-7093
