It is time once again to “fall back” – to end Daylight Savings Time and return to standard time.  Likewise, it's a perfect time to remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms.  Here at the Craig Mader Insurance Agency, we're all about safety.  So we encourage you to get into the habit of changing all your smoke alarm batteries either at the end or the beginning of Daylight Savings Time to keep your family safe, protect your home from fire and smoke damage and help you to avoid homeowners insurance claims.

The value of having reliable smoke alarms in our home is well known. However, having smoke alarms is not enough. A good fire safety plan demands that the smoke alarms are actually working.  Adopting the habit of quickly checking your smoke detectors each month will ensure that they are working properly, and changing the batteries at least once a year will ensure that their batteries are fresh and strong. 

Is it Possible that Your Smoke Alarms Might Stop Working

Smoke alarms can failt to function if they are too old and they outlive their usefulness, especially if they are more than 10 years old. However, more commonly, these alarms don't work because their battery is dead or missing or because the smoke alarm has been disconnected.  In fact, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns that almost two-thirds of home fire deaths in 2005-2009 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms.

Don't Rely on the Smoke Alarm to Remind You

You might be inclined to just wait until the smoke alarm beeping alerts you that your smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced.  That's a bad idea for many reasons such as…

• You might miss the beeping alert if you are not at home during time from when the beeping alert begins until your smoke alarm batteries go totally dead, so you would then not be aware that they are not working. This leaves your family and your home dangerously unprotected against fire.
• If you don't have replacement smoke alarm batteries ready when the beeping alert occurs, you might be tempted to stop the beeping by removing the batteries or disconnecting your smoke alarm and then forgetting to follow-up. Of course, this decreases your protection from a fire until you get your smoke alarm working again.

Replacing Smoke Alarm Batteries

• If your are getting frequent nuisance alarms, then it’s time to replace the entire smoke alarm unit. Don’t be tempted to just disconnect the battery to stop the nuisance alarms.
• Almost all smoke alarms batteries should be replaced each year, including those in hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup. The only exceptions are hard-wired smoke alarms without a battery backup and smoke alarms that have a 10-year battery that cannot be replaced. In the latter case, you would replace the complete smoke alarm every 10 years.
• When you do change the batteries, be sure to install the correct type of replacement battery as recommended in the manual or label on your smoke alarm, and follow all directions. It's best to avoid using rechargeable batteries in your smoke alarm because smoke alarm manufacturers advise against them.
• Remember to change the batteries in your carbon monoxide alarm at the same time that you change your smoke alarm batteries.
• Be sure to remove any dust and clean your smoke alarm at the time that you change the batteries each year.
   
• More About Home Smoke Alarms from the NFPA (Video) 
• Smoke Alarms: Installation and Maintenance Tips
• Smoke Alarm Types: Ionization vs. Photoelectric