March 25 2017

Smoke alarms are preventive household equipment that are often forgotten about. Most people forget to inspect their smoke alarms and just assume that in the event of a fire, their smoke alarm will alert them. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. The batteries in your smoke alarm may be dead, or the alarm might not be functioning correctly, and you wouldn’t know unless a fire occurred. The last thing anyone wants is for a fire to start that ultimately could have been prevented. So how often should you inspect your smoke alarm? Smoke alarms should be inspected once a month. This may seem too frequent, but its’ much better to be safe and take extra precautions than to have a fire start without you being aware. To inspect that a smoke alarm is in good working condition, all you have to do is press the test button! Along with inspecting your smoke alarm, you should also be sure to replace batteries twice a year, even if they’re not dead. This will prevent a situation where the smoke alarm doesn’t work due to an unknown dead battery. This simple step will ensure that the smoke alarm is always in good working condition. It’s also important to replace your smoke alarms at least once every 10 years to make sure they’re up to date. If you don’t already have smoke alarms located around your home, it’s important you get those installed immediately. There should be one smoke alarm on each level, including the basement. There should be one inside of, or at least right outside of, each bedroom and all smokes alarms should connect with one another, that way if one goes off, the others will also go off, even if they haven’t detected smoke in that area of your home.

Installing smoke detectors in your home is a great way to help keep your family safe, but do not assume they will work properly without inspection. Take a few minutes once a month to check them to ensure they’re working properly. If you have any questions, please contact OnSite Solutions in Livonia, Michigan – we are here to help.