Your Ionization Smoke Detectors Will Not Work 35 Percent Of The Time!
To start with, I suspect less than 1 percent of families have ever read the manual for their smoke detectors
. Who needs it? I mean, how hard can it be to throw a few screws in the wall or ceiling? You do not need a manual for that, right?
I would like to challenge you to really read the whole thing. If you do, you will probably wonder how they can even sell these things. And you will certainly be questioning their value, as you should! If you have a home fire, you want the most reliable smoke detector available!
As I write this, I am looking at an owners manual for a smoke detector. I prefer not to mention the brand name, as knocking any particular brand is not my purpose with this article, but let me just say it is a very well known brand.
On the very first page it says, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an agency of the U.S. Government, they may not go off, or give early enough warning in as many as 35 percent of all fires. WHAT! This is a brand new detector with brand new batteries and they just told you it will not work 35 percent of the time! What appliance do you have that you would tolerate that from? Of course, they know you will never read the manual. What if you bought a new car and no one told bothered to tell you, but when you got home and read the manual it said the brakes would not work 35 percent of the time? I realize that is slightly different, but only in the sense that if your brakes didn't work 35 percent of the time, you would have figured that out before you got home. You do not know if your smoke detectors work until when?
OK, on the next page it says: It does not sense gas, heat or flame. Many detectors say on the box Smoke and Fire Detector, to make an unsuspecting consumer think it will do more than it can. While this might happen, they know it is NOT designed to be effective at detecting both types of fires.
Then, on the next page they tell you where NOT to locate your smoke detectors. Have you ever read this? It eliminates over 70 percent of where all deadly fires occur!
Where smoke detectors should not be put up:
1. In or near areas where combustion particles may be present, such as kitchens, garages, near furnaces, hot water heaters or space heaters.
2. Within 20 feet from the above areas
3. In any airstream passing by kitchens
4. In damp or humid areas or near bathrooms
5. In cold or hot areas, because they will not work below 40 or over 100 degrees
6. In dusty or dirty areas
7. Near fresh air vents or drafty areas
8. In dead air spaces
9. In insect infested areas
10. Near fluorescent lights
It does not leave much does it? We have to put something in these areas if we want to be sure we have time to escape. The reason so many people die in home fires is that their smoke detector did not go off in time. And now you know why!
Please do NOT misunderstand the intentions of this article. I am NOT saying you should throw away your smoke detectors of this type. They do work about half the time. What I am saying is that if you want alarms to work every time, here is what you need to do:
1. Get quality smoke detectors using the latest optical technology, with long life batteries, computerized features, self diagnostics and cleanable smoke chambers. They are not easy to find, but worth the time to find them. And in the long run, they usually cost less! You can find a few today that are reliable enough that they carry 20 year warranties.
2. Install heat detectors that utilize a eutectic metal fuse in any area of your home that you want reliability or cannot put smoke detectors. (See above)
3. Consider professional installation. Approximately 30 percent of all detectors will not work because they are not properly located.
4. Be sure you have planned your escape and have ladders available for second-story bedrooms.
Next time you think about buying a smoke detector, read the manual first. I suspect you will instantly realize why many are so cheap!
by: Bill Driscoll
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