• Home
  • Where to Place and How to Maintain Smoke Detectors?
Where to Place and How to Maintain Smoke Detectors?

Where to Place and How to Maintain Smoke Detectors?

With smart technology becoming more and more popular, you have the ability to control and monitor almost every other part of your home. From your front door to the security system of your home, everything is automated now.

When talking about the safety of your home and loved ones, smoke detectors play a huge part in it. Let’s be real. Fires can strike at any point in time, and it doesn’t even matter if you are asleep, awake, home, or not around.

That is why, almost everyone seems to have the very same question in mind when thinking of installing standard or smart smoke alarms, “where to place smoke detectors?” This is, in fact, a really important question in itself.

Smoke detectors should be installed on each level of your home so that it can detect resign smoke from every corner of the house. They should either be placed inside or just outside every common area and bedrooms, and in the kitchen and laundry room where there’s a high probability of fires originating.

Of course, there’s the concern of always getting false alarms that is why in order to reduce the probability of them happening while cooking, you should consider having your smoke alarms installed at a minimum of 10 feet away from any kitchen appliances.

Moreover, if you have a rather big home, consider installing more alarms. We have outlined the best places where you can install smoke detectors in your home and how to do their maintenance.

Living Areas and Large Rooms

From your living room to the kitchen, also if you have a fireplace, it’s good to place smoke detectors in places where most family gatherings are done, so that there’s a certain level of protection for all.

From heat to flammable materials such as curtains and towels, the kitchen is the most vulnerable to fire in every home. It’s as important to know where to install a smoke detector at home as it is to know what should be done when a fire starts in the house.

Fire alarms and smoke detectors both go a really long way in making sure a large fire is prevented at home. Make sure there are nearby fire extinguishers to help prevent the spread of fire.

Every Floor of Your Home

As mentioned earlier, each level of the house should have a minimum of one smoke detector that is ready to alarm at the mere presence of smoke. Also, make sure that your attics and basement have a smoke detector with a fresh set of batteries.

If your bedroom is on the top floor of your home. It’s advisable to have a fire escape ladder ready so that anyone upstairs has the ability to escape safely if a fire starts.

In Every Bedroom

For instance, if everyone at home is sleeping and a fire starts in a bedroom, you would want the smoke alarm to alert you as soon as possible. That is why, it’s recommended to install a smoke detector in or at the entrance of every bedroom, this also included hallways connecting all rooms.

On Stairways

Stairs are perhaps the fastest and nearest way out of the house when a fire starts. Installing a smoke alarm on your staircase also alerts other individuals in the house of a fire, whether they are upstairs or downstairs.

Each staircase even those that lead to your attic or basement, should at least have smoke detectors in place nearby.

Smoke Detectors Maintenance

Here’s who you can do the maintenance of your smoke detectors:

  • Have the smoke detector tested every month. This ensures that your smoke detector is indeed working properly. Most, if not all smoke detectors have a test button that sounds a test alarm or shines a light to inform you that it’s working properly.

  • Replace the batteries of your smoke detector yearly. In order to ensure that the smoke detector is working properly, you should change its batteries twice a year.

  • Replace your smoke detectors every 10 years. Most smoke detectors have a lifespan of 10 years before you need to replace them. Always write the installation date down for every smoke detector so that you always remember when to replace them.

  • Keep your smoke detectors clean. It’s important to keep your smoke detectors clean and free of dust to always allow them to spot and alert you of smoke. Vacuum it every once in a while if needed.

Conclusion

The placement of smoke detectors is very important, as it needs to alert you no matter where you are that a fire might be starting. Moreover, in order to make sure your smoke detectors keep working perfectly, you need to do regular maintenance.

Leave A Comment