What happens if I skip it?

Nothing, right up until it is expensive. These jobs are cheap and quick precisely because they are preventive; the repair they prevent is neither.

Reference

How often should you test smoke detectors?

Test every smoke and CO detector every 6 months, and replace the whole unit at 10 years. That is the interval the HomeAlmanac app schedules for this job, adjusted for the systems your home actually has.

How often: Every 6 months
Time needed: 15 min
Best time: Any time of year
Priority: High

Why it matters

Working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are the single most important safety device in a home. Most failures are dead batteries.

How to do it

Press and hold the test button on each detector until it sounds. Replace any that fail, any smoke alarm more than 10 years old, and any CO alarm past the replacement age its maker gives. Vacuum dust from the vents. If a CO alarm sounds, get everyone outside into fresh air right away, call 911 from outside, and stay out until responders say it is safe.

When to do it

There is no season for this one. What matters is the interval, which is exactly the kind of thing that quietly slips when you are tracking it in your head.

HomeAlmanac schedules this one for you, works out the next due date each time you mark it done, and reminds you before it is late.

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What this protects

Staying on this schedule is one of the biggest levers on how long these last.

Smoke / CO detector 10 years

Quick answers

How often should you test smoke detectors?: Test every smoke and CO detector every 6 months, and replace the whole unit at 10 years.
Why does it matter?: Working smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms are the single most important safety device in a home. Most failures are dead batteries.
What happens if I skip it?: Nothing, right up until it is expensive. These jobs are cheap and quick precisely because they are preventive; the repair they prevent is neither.