Replace old smoke and CO alarms

The part, and finding the right one

• The alarm itself (smoke / co alarm). Smoke alarms are replaced 10 years from the date on the back; CO and combination alarms at 7 years (Kidde, First Alert) or the maker’s date. The date is on the back of the alarm.

On a home’s record, each piece of equipment’s page links its manual and a search for its parts by brand and model. All filters and parts

How to do it

1. Find the manufacture date on the back label; if there is no date, replace it now.
2. Smoke alarms: 10 years from manufacture. CO alarms: Kidde says 10 years (7 for alarms made before 2013, with exceptions); First Alert’s CO710 manual says 10 years from installation, and its page says 5-7. When unsure, count from the manufacture date, or replace when the end-of-life signal sounds.
3. Buy the same kind. Interconnected alarms: a compatible brand and model; don’t mix.
4. Twist the old one off, mount the new plate, and twist the new alarm on; a 10-year Kidde activates on the plate and chirps once.
5. Test it, and write the date in the space on the label.
6. An old sealed alarm: break the label and turn the screw to OFF (permanent; contact the maker’s support first), then dispose of it as the maker or your waste facility says.

Normal

• An end-of-life signal can be silenced for up to 7 days (First Alert); Kidde’s can’t be silenced after 7 days.

Call an electrician if

• Hardwired, with no matching adapter.
• Mixed brands on one circuit.

Keep track of it

Add your home to My homes: each piece of equipment gets this on its own schedule, with “Mark done” and reminders you can turn on.

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Sources

• NFPA
• U.S. Fire Administration
• First Alert
• First Alert
• First Alert (CO710 manual)
• First Alert (SM110LED-AC manual)
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde
• Kidde (CO alarm user guide)

Your owner’s manual comes first: where it says something different for your model, follow it.