The most forgotten devices in everyone's home are the smoke alarms. The batteries have to be changed but everyone forgets about them. It's a good idea to get into the habit of changing the batteries once a year. New Year's Day is the perfect time to do that. If you get into the habit of changing the batteries every New Year's Day there isn't anything to remember and you can always be sure that the batteries are fresh.

In a flashlight or clock you can wait until the battery dies, but in your smoke detector it could mean the difference between life and death. Throwing out a few batteries that might still have some life in them is a small price to pay for the assurance that your smoke detectors will work in an emergency.

While you're at it, don't forget to change the batteries in your CO2 detectors too.

 

Mine are plug in. But you want to test the alarm at least annually.

 

Our smoke detectors are AC powered with a battery backup. I change the batteries once a year due to some of them are about 16 ft off the floor! A real PITA!!

 

Same here.X 2

 

Here is an additional thought on the topic.
Most manufacturers recommend you replace the detectors every ten years!!

 

Don't you folks with plug ins have a battery in them for backup in case the power goes out?
Another good thing to do is clean them out with compressed air.

 

You are absolutely right. My carbon monoxide detectors are plugin but they have battery backup. My smoke alarms are also wired into the house electricity but they also have battery backup. I think all of these devices have battery backup.

 

I wait until the annoying beeps let me know it's time. Sometimes the beep means put in a new battery and sometimes the beep means it's hit the end of it's life and time to buy a new smoke detector or carbon dioxide detector.

 

Waiting that long could mean that the detector possibly will not work properly. Out of concern for you that is a big gamble that I don't think you should take!

 

I agree. Let my wife come and cook, she tests ours all the time.