DIY guideSmoke and CO alarms

Test smoke and CO alarms

Press each alarm's test button, change its batteries, and know when an alarm is too old.

5 steps

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Press and hold each alarm's test button until it sounds. Do it once a month.
If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off on its own, get everyone outside, then call 911 from there.
Twist the alarm off its base, put in fresh batteries of the type printed on it, and twist it back on. Do it once a year, or as soon as one chirps. A sealed alarm has no battery to change: replace the whole alarm when it chirps.
Run a vacuum's soft brush over the alarm's vents to clear dust and cobwebs. Do it each time you change the batteries.
Look on the back for the date it was made. Replace a smoke alarm 10 years after that date, and a CO alarm when its maker says, often 7 to 10 years.
Put it back on its base and press the test button once more to make sure it sounds.

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