We trust your clocks are now one hour behind (the extra sleep is glorious, the early darkness is not!) Daylight Saving Time is also the ideal time of year to swap out the batteries in your smoke detectors — or, if needed, change the detectors themselves.
Ensuring your home’s smoke alarms are in proper working order is especially important going into the colder months, as the fire risk climbs due to an increased use of space heaters, fireplaces, candles and holiday decorations.
Most smoke detectors use 9-volt batteries. If yours operates on AA or AAA batteries, consider switching to a lithium battery — they tend to have a longer shelf life and are more reliable than traditional alkaline batteries.
While you’re spending time checking your smoke detectors, take a few additional minutes to make sure you have an ample number of devices throughout your house. Fire prevention experts agree that smoke detector placement is critical to fire prevention, especially if you have a larger home or one with multiple levels.
Although you only need to swap out your smoke detector batteries once a year, it’s a good idea to get in the habit of testing your detectors on a monthly basis.
Photo courtesy of flickr.com/jamiemc
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