My daughter moved in to a house almost a year ago. She noticed that there were no smoke detectors (she is renting) and I told her to call the managing office because they are required to have smoke detectors in rentals. She never did it. Well the other day she had a inspection and they asked if she had any concerns and she said the smoke detectors. He was really surprised that she had lived there for a year with out one. He put in 4 new ones.

We have two Nest smoke and CO2 detectors. We were informed several months ago that they would expire (reached their lifespan) on Dec. 5th, so we had plenty of time to get new ones. The CO2 sensor lasts 10 years. We need to install them this weekend!

It seems a lot of people dont know smoke alarms have a life expectancy. If you dont know how old yours are get some new ones. Cheap at the price. I like the sealed muti-year ones. when the battery is done the alarm is done and it tells you so in a very annoying way. I was required to have hard wired smoke alarms when I built this house but that did not take into consideration the power going out.

My son lived in Ukraine for a while a few years ago. There were no smoke detectors in his apartment building. The landlord said that his nose was the smoke detector.

So while he was still living there we met up for a week in Sweden, and he asked me to bring him a smoke detector.

My 1st property manager, did not require smoke detectors. Only one co2, outside the bedrooms. I always put smoke detectors in rentals and I'm shocked when I find them without a battery when the rental is turned over. Such a good thing to have for the price of a battery.

Smoke detectors expire in about 5 years from date of manufacture. Those contain a small amount of radioactive material (often Americium) that ionizes smoke particles passing through the detector. This radioactive material decays to an ineffective level in about 5 years. That's why smoke detectors should be replaced periodically. Believe the expiration date. The useful period is measured from the date of manufacture, not the date it was purchased. It could have already been a year old when bought. Therefore, look for the expiration date before you buy.

I have had smoke detector that worked up to 7 yrs old, but had lost sensitivity. ( I had a few discards laying around.)

Not smoke detector related, but I remember when my parents got those carbon monoxide detectors put in the house. They were so proud of themselves taking the extra steps for the safety of their children.

I also remember every time they went off, especially in the middle of the night, we were barked at to get back in bed while they ripped the batteries out in annoyance. Shouldn't we have been out in the yard whilst the proper authorities were called? Nope. Back in bed.. In the morning,they would replace them. So why get them? Never got a straight answer for that one.

Luckily, my mother set the smoke detectors off frequently,so when she cooked a whole week without setting them off, it was almost always an indicator that they needed new batteries.

When we moved into our current house we discovered that the smoke detectors would only work if we activated whatever security contract the previous owners had. Like, even though they had batteries, they actually would not work unless we activated that contract. Easy fix though. We just went out and bought some. I wonder who was dumb enough to sign up for that?

I don't need to check the one in the kitchen. I was cooking something a few days ago and the smoke alarm went off. It wasn't even smoky so apparently it is pretty sensitive.

Yep, unplugged. I will not listen to that noise.

The last smoke detectors I purchased were sold as having a ten year life. While I do have one at the head of the stairs to the basement the rest are around the house but not on the walls. Too many replaced smoke detectors left the area that they were in unable to hold any more screws. It would be nice if the area where you attach the detector to the wall had a standardized spacing of the screws. Last three from the same company were just a fraction of an inch different or needed two screws across from each other and not three.

Our smoke detectors, one below basement stair, near furnace, one above doorway living room to kitchen, chirp a few times per hour when batteries low. The latter squeals when I burn toast or a pan.

Carbon monoxide alarm checks out O.K.

ole joyful