Smoke detector testing

What It Means

Smoke detector testing is the monthly check that each smoke alarm in the home still sounds when you press its test button. The U.S. Fire Administration and NFPA both call for that monthly test, and both say the whole alarm should be replaced 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more years after its manufacture date, which is printed on the back. How often the battery changes depends on the type of alarm.

How It Sounds at Home

• "First of the month, time to push all the smoke alarm buttons."
• "Cover your ears, I'm testing the hallway one."
• "This alarm says 2014 on the back, it's due for a new one."

The Breakdown

How often, per the U.S. Fire Administration and NFPA

How to run the monthly test

1. Press the test button on the first alarm and wait for it to sound.
2. Do the same on every other smoke alarm in the home.
3. Once a year, read the manufacture date on the back of each alarm.
4. Change batteries on the schedule in the table above.
5. Replace any alarm that has reached 10 years from that date.

Buhata's own suggestion: warn everyone before you start, since the alarm is loud, and note any alarm that stays quiet so it gets fixed or replaced.

Make it count twice. The U.S. Fire Administration suggests using the test button to kick off a home fire drillFire escape planA household's agreed way out in a fire: two exits from every room, an outside meeting place, and a drill practiced at least twice a year. See more, so the family hears the real sound and practices the way out at the same time.

Good to Know

The 10-year clock starts on the date printed on the alarm, not the day you put it up, so an alarm that sat in a drawer has already used part of its life. A sealed-battery alarm skips battery changes but still needs its monthly test, per NFPA. CPSC also recommends testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly and changing replaceable batteries every year. The U.S. Fire Administration notes that people may have less than 2 minutes to escape once a smoke alarm goes off, which is why a working alarm matters so much. If an alarm sounds for a real fire, get everyone out, then call 911 from outside.

Related Terms and Categories

• Carbon monoxide detector

  An alarm that sounds when carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, builds up to a dangerous level in the air of a home.

• Fire escape plan

  A household's agreed way out in a fire: two exits from every room, an outside meeting place, and a drill practiced at least twice a year.

• Fire extinguisher

  A handheld tank that sprays an agent to put out a small fire, labeled with the classes of fire (such as A, B and C) it is approved for.

• Seasonal home maintenance

  Home upkeep sorted by time of year, so each job lands when the weather suits it and before the system it protects is needed most.

• Family emergency plan

  A written plan a household agrees on ahead of time for how it will reach each other, where it will meet and what it will do in a disaster or emergency.

Home maintenance and repairs