4 Smoke Detector Tips for Preventing Holiday Fires

As you prepare for the holiday season, it’s time to take fire safety seriously. The National Fire Protection Association discusses how Christmas trees, holiday decorations, candles, and cooking can all be severe fire risks, with Christmas tree fires causing $10 million in property damage annually. Due to the increased risk of fires during the holiday season, you must ensure your smoke detectors are working at their best. Check out these four smoke detector tips to lower the risk of holiday fires and keep your family safe:

1) Test Your Smoke Detectors

One of the most important safety measures you can take throughout the year is to test your smoke detectors every month. Since three out of five home fire deaths occur at properties without functioning smoke detectors, it’s essential you test them regularly. If you don’t routinely check your smoke detectors, the holiday season is the perfect time to start due to the increased risk of fires. 

To properly test your smoke detector, first let everyone in your home know that you’re about to do a test, as you won’t want them to think there’s a real emergency. Next, press the test button on the smoke detector. If the smoke detector beeps or makes another loud noise, your smoke detector is working like it’s supposed to. However, if no sound comes out of it, you’ll want to hire an electrician to perform an inspection and potentially repair or replace the smoke detector. 

2) Replace Your Smoke Alarm Batteries

If your home uses smoke alarms instead of smoke detectors, you’ll want to swap out their batteries before the holiday season. Unlike smoke detectors that connect to a power source and fire alarm system, smoke alarms are self-contained and rely on batteries. As a result, they can stop working if their battery dies and no one replaces it.

Many smoke alarms require users to replace their batteries at least once a year. If you’re getting close to a year since your last battery change, you should swap out your batteries and test the alarm before the holidays. However, if your smoke alarm features a non-replaceable 10-year battery, you’ll need to replace your entire smoke alarm once you reach the 10-year mark.

3) Replace Any Damaged Smoke Detectors

A damaged or malfunctioning smoke detector is a serious safety issue, so it’s critical you know the main signs your smoke detector has something wrong with it. Some key signs your smoke detector needs to be replaced include:

• The smoke detector is 10 years old or older
• You notice that your smoke detector is turning yellow
• The smoke detector doesn’t make a noise when you test it
• Your smoke detector or parts of your smoke detector have been recalled
• The smoke detector frequently chirps
• Your smoke detector constantly goes off for no reason

When you notice any of the above signs, it’s probably time to have a professional replace your smoke detector. Once you hire an electrician, they should inspect your smoke detector to see if the smoke detector is at fault or if another issue is causing the problem. If they find that the smoke detector is at fault, they can perform a smoke detector replacement to ensure you’re protected from holiday fires.

4) Schedule an Electrical Home Safety Inspection

Alongside repairing or replacing damaged smoke detectors, you might want to schedule a full electrical home safety inspection before the holidays. Since you’ll be plugging in more lights, cooking more, and having people over, you should verify your electrical system is running at its best. Part of the electrical home safety inspection process should include checks of your existing lights, main electrical panel, and outlets.

This inspection should also include a review of your smoke detectors to verify they work. Alongside checking that they’re functioning as intended, an electrician should check your smoke detectors’ placements throughout your home. If they notice any areas that are too far away from your existing smoke detectors, the electrician can install new smoke detectors to ensure all areas of your home are being properly monitored for smoke and fires.

More Holiday Safety Tips

Bonney contributed to Porch.com’s article, Holiday Safety Tips and Tricks for a Stress-Free Season, where we discuss five ways to protect you and your family from accidentally overloading your electrical circuits this holiday season. The article includes many other helpful tips for a safe and stress-free holiday!

Choose Bonney for Smoke Detector Repair and Replacement Services in Sacramento

If you’re looking for smoke detector repair or replacement services near you in Sacramento, Bonney has you covered. Our certified electricians are happy to repair damaged smoke detectors or fully replace them when they can’t be fixed. We can also help you decide on the best locations for your smoke detectors and install new ones for you. To ensure our smoke detector services can meet anyone’s budget, we offer various coupons and financing options.

Learn more about our smoke detector and smoke alarm repair services today. If you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment, please contact us.