After the hospital
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms Go In Five Steps. Carry Each One Through the Test Button
Count, place, mount, link, and test, with one person named to repeat the test, so the new alarm does not sit silent on the wall.
Installing alarms is a short job on paper and an easy one to leave half done. The steps below follow the alarm from the box to the first test, and name the one job most often missed after the install.
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1. Count the units
Plan one unit in each sleeping area, one in the hallway outside those areas, and one on each level of the home. Check the packaging and the rules from your local fire department or building office, since requirements can differ by place and by home. Count the units before you buy so you do not climb the ladder twice.
2. Pick the spot
Keep units away from the kitchen cooking area and from bathroom steam, following the distance the manual gives. Do not put a unit in a dead corner where air does not move. For carbon monoxide units, follow the manual on height and distance from any fuel-burning appliance.
3. Mount it
Use a stud or the bracket that comes with the unit, and check that the wall is solid before you drill. If a unit is hardwired into the house wiring, that is a job for a licensed electrician, not a weekend project.
4. Link the units
If the units are interconnected, press the test button on one of them. All of them should sound. If they are not linked, test each unit on its own. A unit that works alone but does not sound with the rest is still a failure of the system.
5. Test and name the tester
Press the test button on each unit and write the result on a card. Put the card on the refrigerator or inside a closet door. Name one person who repeats the test on a fixed schedule written on the day sheet, and write that name on the card too.
Check her room
Test from her bed with the door closed and any fan running that she normally uses. If she cannot hear the alarm from her bed, ask the installer about a unit with a visual or vibrating signal, and treat that as a real change to the plan, not an add-on.
Finally, look at the replacement period printed on the back of each unit and write it on the card. That period is the next job on the list, and it should be in writing before anyone forgets it.