Smoke alarms: where to put them and how to keep them working

One minute a month keeps it ready.

The answer in 2 lines. Put smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of your home, basement included. Test them once a month with the test button. Replace batteries when the alarm chirps, or as the maker says, and replace the whole alarm every 10 years. In most states, clocks go back on Sunday, November 1, 2026: a good reminder to check them. Renting? Rules vary by state and city, but landlords usually must provide working alarms.

The first 3 steps

Press the test button: the alarm should sound loud.
If it chirps every minute or so, change the battery (or replace the alarm if it has a sealed 10-year battery that's dying).
Check the date on the back: if it's 10 years old or more, replace it.

Stop: danger

When you sleep, your sense of smell doesn't wake you up. The alarm does.
An alarm with no battery, or taken down because it went off while cooking, protects no one.

Where to put them

Inside every bedroom.
Outside each sleeping area, like the hallway outside bedrooms.
On every level, including the basement.
On the ceiling or high on a wall, since smoke rises.
At least about 10 feet from the stove, to reduce false alarms from cooking.

Interconnected alarms, where one sounding sets them all off, give more warning. Many newer homes have them by code.

Testing and batteries

Test every alarm once a month.
A short chirp every minute or so usually means a low battery.
Replace the whole alarm at least every 10 years.
For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, there are alarms with strobe lights and bed shakers.

What not to do

Painting over an alarm or covering it.
Taking the battery out to stop cooking alarms: use the hush button and fan the air instead.
Installing one only in the kitchen or bathroom, where steam and cooking set it off.

Who is responsible in a rental

In most of the US, landlords must install working smoke alarms, and tenants must not disable them and must report problems. The exact rules, such as who changes batteries, depend on your state and city. In New York City, for example, owners must install smoke and CO alarms and tenants must keep them working (NYC HPD Fire Safety). Your local fire department can tell you the rules where you live, and many give free alarms to residents who need them.

Good to know

Combination smoke and CO alarms exist: the label tells you what it detects.
Two kinds of sensors exist (ionization and photoelectric); NFPA and USFA say both, or dual-sensor alarms, give the best protection.
Your local fire department or the American Red Cross may install free alarms in some areas.

In Los Angeles, Rosa's hallway alarm has chirped for two days. She changes the battery and presses the test button: it sounds loud and clear. The date on the back says it's 11 years old, so she tells her landlord, who replaces it that week.

A made-up story, for illustration.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on October 18, 2026, for the United States. Confidence: high for where to place alarms, testing and the 10-year replacement; medium for renters' rules, which vary by state and city. The end of daylight saving time on November 1, 2026 is a calendar fact (first Sunday of November); Hawaii and most of Arizona don't change their clocks. This guide describes common cases, not a diagnosis.