How do I know how old my alarms are?

“Don’t Wait to Check the Date!” If you’re not sure how old your alarms are, twist and carefully pull the alarm off the wall/ceiling, turn it over to see the back, and look for a small stamp or sticker that shows a month and year. This is when the alarm was made, also known as the “manufacture date.”

• If the manufacture date shows your SMOKE ALARM is more than 10 years old, we recommend buying and installing a new smoke alarm right away! Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• If the manufacture date shows your CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) or COMBINATION SMOKE & CO ALARM is more than 7 years old, we recommend buying and installing a new carbon monoxide or combination alarm right away! Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• If your alarm hasn’t reached its intended life-span (10 years for smoke alarms, and 5 to 7 years for CO alarms), we recommend using a permanent marker to make a note on the side of the alarm with the date that you’ll need to replace the alarm. Then put the alarm back up on the wall/ceiling.

NOTE: If you move into a home that was built over 10 years ago, you should look on the back of all alarms to find out when they were made, or verify that the inspector specifically checked for this.

If  your alarms are hard-wired into your home’s electricity, be sure to first turn off power before removing or replacing an alarm.