Do yourself, your loved-ones, and maybe even some of your in-laws 
a favor before year's end.
Test all of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
I'm sure many here keep things working at a parent's, grand-parent's, or even a neighbor's home; check theirs too!
Replace any alarms that are either at or near their end of life.
-Yes, replace the ones that were painted over by the previous knucklehead that lived there.
The new models I just bought have a 10 year, internal, lithium battery, & they are dual- alarms; smoke & CO in the same unit.
They no longer need an elusive 9 volt battery either, which is great news to my ears. (I think they all hang out with the 10mm sockets in Bigfoot's UFO).
These improvements in the battery technology are great, but these alarms don't beep at you in the middle of the night if they have failed.
I fear that by not having to change out the batteries twice a year, there is significant potential for many alarms get taken for granted/neglected.
They need to be checked/tested with at least some regularity if you expect them to work when/if called upon.
Test them and save a life.
BTW, as a habit, I always write the installation date on new units.
a favor before year's end.Test all of your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
I'm sure many here keep things working at a parent's, grand-parent's, or even a neighbor's home; check theirs too!
Replace any alarms that are either at or near their end of life.
-Yes, replace the ones that were painted over by the previous knucklehead that lived there.
The new models I just bought have a 10 year, internal, lithium battery, & they are dual- alarms; smoke & CO in the same unit.
They no longer need an elusive 9 volt battery either, which is great news to my ears. (I think they all hang out with the 10mm sockets in Bigfoot's UFO).
These improvements in the battery technology are great, but these alarms don't beep at you in the middle of the night if they have failed.
I fear that by not having to change out the batteries twice a year, there is significant potential for many alarms get taken for granted/neglected.
They need to be checked/tested with at least some regularity if you expect them to work when/if called upon.
Test them and save a life.
BTW, as a habit, I always write the installation date on new units.