DIY guideSmoke and CO alarms

Put smoke and CO alarms where they belong

Where each kind of alarm goes in a home, and how to put up a battery or plug-in one.

7 steps

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Put a smoke alarm on every floor of the home, the basement too.
Put a smoke alarm inside each bedroom, and one in the hall outside them.
Put a CO alarm in the hall outside the bedrooms, and one on each floor with a furnace, a fireplace or an attached garage.
Mount smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on a wall, away from corners, the stove and the bathroom door. A plug-in CO alarm goes in an outlet nothing blocks.
Screw the base up, pull out the battery tab and twist the alarm on until it clicks.
Use a steady step ladder, and keep clear of any wires in the ceiling.
Press and hold each alarm's test button until it sounds.
New alarms that need wiring in, or that should all sound together through the house's power, are an electrician's job. Ask Handyman.

Handyman says: Wired alarms? I'll find an electrician.

Free for every home. Handyman asks a few questions, then books a pro it trusts.