Important Things to Note About Your Home’s Smoke Alarms | SERVPRO® of Beaver County

10/10/2021 (Permalink)

Smoke detectors are an absolutely essential safety feature of any home or outbuilding—the phrase, “smoke detectors save lives,” is one that certainly rings true. However, smoke detectors are not something you can set up and forget until you need them. 

Properly maintaining and testing your home’s smoke alarms is an important part of ensuring they will work in the event of an emergency.

Fortunately, proper smoke detector maintenance does not take much time and can be easily added to your seasonal home maintenance task list with ease. Just a few minutes every month can provide you with priceless peace of mind and keep you and your family safer in the event of a fire.

### How to Maintain Your Smoke Alarms

**Check them every single month.** In a quarter of household fires where smoke detectors failed, dead batteries were to blame—which is a very preventable tragedy. Every 30 days, be sure to use the test button on each smoke detector in your home to ensure that it is working as it should, and if yours are equipped to notify you about a low battery, be sure you change them out promptly.

**Replace them every 10 years.** Even if your smoke alarms seem to be working during your monthly tests, they should still be replaced every 10 years according to the National Fire Protection Association. Because their internal components can wear down with time, they can become less effective at detecting smoke in the home and may not notify your family with enough time to spare.

**Be sure you have plenty of them.** Do an assessment of how many smoke alarms you have in your home and where they are located to see if you need more. You should have smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, on every level of the home and in the kitchen, garage and basement.

**Have a plan in case they sound.** If a smoke alarm sounds, it is vital that you and your family know what to do. Making sure you have a proper evacuation plan in place is key to getting everyone out quickly so you can stay safe and await the fire department’s response.

*If you have household fire damage, you can count on us to help. Get in touch today to learn more about our fire restoration services and how we can help.*