When it comes to getting your smoke alarms tested it is recommended that you test them once a month. Even though most alarms have a low battery indicator, it's advised that you still test your alarm and not to be completely reliant on the indicator sounding. This applies to hardwired alarms as some contain batteries as a back-up and may have parts not functioning correctly.
As part of the alarms regular maintenance, it's also important to:
- Change the battery once a year (unless it's a 10 year alarm)
- Clean once every 3 months using the soft brush on your vacuum cleaner to ensure you remove dust build-up and/or insects
- Do a decibel test
Signs your Smoke alarm needs checking
- Gives false alarms
- Emits short, regular beeps
- Regular kitchen smoke causing it to activate may wear it out faster
- Worn out batteries