Today we turned back the clocks. I don’t like when it gets dark at 4:30 PM, but at least for this morning I did enjoy the extra hour of rest!
An annual event like turning back the clock is a helpful trigger to do an annual task, such as changing the batteries in your smoke detectors.
One day this week I was surprised when the smoke detector in our kitchen started beeping. There was no smoke and no fire, so I figured it must be the battery. I took down the smoke detector to investigate and below is a picture of what I found.
My clever husband had written the date on the battery with a Sharpie the last time he changed it! We do strive to change the batteries in ALL our smoke detectors once a year. Adam usually does this when the clocks turn back, or on New Year’s Day. Judging by the date on the battery (Feb 2016), I guess it happened a little later, but at least it was taken care of. I read these two surprising statistics about smoke detectors:
  • Smoke alarms are not present in three out of five house fire deaths.
  • A properly working smoke alarm will reduce the chance of death in a house fire by 50%.
If your smoke detectors are hard-wired into your home it is also important to test them annually and to check that the back-up battery is working in case there is a power outage.
How do you remember to check your smoke detector batteries?
What annual event is a helpful trigger for you?

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