# Change your Smoke Alarm After 10 years



## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I did not know this until recently but you should change your smoke alarm every 10 years. The radioactive stuff in it wears out after 10 years. 

In 50% of fires the smoke alarm was found not to work. 

If you get nuisance alarms, don't be an idiot and take the battery out, get a screw driver and move it. It's two screws and it could save your life. 

So... don't burn to a crisp, replace your old smoke alarms and move those that drive you crazy. 

If you're a landlord, do the same for your tenants, if there happens to be a fire and you don't, its a $50,000 fine in Ontario and even jail plus you get your picture in the paper, with a nice article about how horrible you are. 

If you're a tenant and your landlord hasn't or won't do it, go to the store and buy one. It's 10$ and well worth it for your life.


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## ghostryder (Apr 5, 2009)

Don't forget to do routine checks to make sure the detectors are functional.

Oh, and if you don't, refrain from falsifying records that say you did.

http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstar...=df5ed183-c7ad-4aff-a49c-d4ea9af152b8&k=25301


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## Potato (Apr 3, 2009)

Berubeland said:


> I did not know this until recently but you should change your smoke alarm every 10 years. The radioactive stuff in it wears out after 10 years.


To be pedantic, the Americium is still plenty radioactive. It's usually because the electronics start to fail that they should be replaced every 10 years.


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## Four Pillars (Apr 5, 2009)

I'm going to ignore this advice, because I know that Rachelle is not a certified, licensed smoke alarm professional.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Don't you start to get false positives if the material becomes less radioactive? Smoke detectors operate on the principle of a detector monitoring radiation emitted from the isotope. Smoke particles block the radiation, triggering the alarm. So, as the isotope decays, you ought to start getting false positives.

What kind of half-life are we talking about here?

Edit: I looked it up. The half life of common Americium isotopes is in the hundreds of years +. So I don't think this is a significant problem.

Maybe just burn some toast from time to time to make sure it's working.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

Maybe Andrew is a certified licensed smoke alarm technician, he knows about the radioactive half life of the Americium and he knows how to burn toast ! 

I wonder what does go wrong with them ? 

I know that tenants do, with astonishing regularity, remove the batteries or in the case of my hard wired alarm downstairs that went off every time someone took a shower, remove the entire alarm. 

I wonder if that would qualify for a Darwin Award?


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Berubeland said:


> I wonder what does go wrong with them ?
> 
> ...


Failure of electronic components for the most part. Also buildup of dust & dirt & air pollutants in places that can't be cleaned. 10 years is the normal recommendation for replacement in Canada, unless the manufacturer specifically recommends something different. This was based on studies of failure rates vs age for smoke alarms in Ontario Housing Corporation properties.


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

I started writing the date installed in marker whenever I change the actual smoke alarm. With 2 apartments plus mine, it can become confusing. Then I try to remember to change the batteries all at the same time each year.


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

What a great idea !

I'll start doing this from now on, because you can't imagine what a paperwork nightmare property managers already have to keep track of. 

When you start managing a building you generally get a bucket of keys and very poor tracking. Writing it on the alarm takes care of these problems.


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## stardancer (Apr 26, 2009)

Berubeland said:


> What a great idea !
> 
> I'll start doing this from now on, because you can't imagine what a paperwork nightmare property managers already have to keep track of.
> 
> When you start managing a building you generally get a bucket of keys and very poor tracking. Writing it on the alarm takes care of these problems.


Glad to be of help.


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## Scottlandlord (May 27, 2010)

Berubeland said:


> When you start managing a building you generally get a bucket of keys and very poor tracking. Writing it on the alarm takes care of these problems.


Not in MY properties!


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

^You're getting tiresome, Scott. We get it. Rachelle got the better of you in an argument and now your ego is bruised. Please try to act like a grown-up.


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