Home & Garden · Maintenance planning

Smoke and CO detector test for the new year

By TechHomeTips Editors Published July 4, 2026 Updated October 29, 2026 4 min read Report a correction

Use each alarm’s own test button, check its date and follow the maker’s instructions for batteries and replacement.

A new-year alarm test is the button on the smoke alarm and the button on the carbon monoxide alarm, if you have each one. An app tap is not the test. A smoke alarm is not a CO alarm unless that unit says it is both. Use the replace-by date printed on the unit. This page does not use a universal ten-year rule.

Step 1: Press the button on the alarm

  1. Tell the household you are testing. Press the test button on the smoke alarm itself.
  2. If you have a separate CO alarm, press its button too. Do not treat a smoke pass as a CO pass.
  3. If the alarm does not sound, read the label. Replace it with a listed alarm if the printed replace-by date has passed, or if the booklet says the test failed. Do not invent a lifespan.

Placement before a cooking day is in smoke-alarm placement. Planning both types is in smoke and CO planning. After a big meal, the same button rule applies: a smoke test after a meal.

Step 2: Leave the alarm where it is

Do not move the alarm to a smarter outlet. Do not put it on a smart plug or a strip. Do not bag it. Do not borrow its battery for a remote or a toy. Do not unplug it so a charger can use the outlet.

Phone alerts can be quiet only if you have already heard the alarm on the ceiling and you are sure the unit still sounds. If you are not sure, leave both on. Do not pause the alarm in a décor schedule: pausing automations. Do not forward a port so a relative gets every test chirp.

Step 3: The test is not a reason to run fuel indoors

Do not start a generator, a grill, a fuel heater, or a car in the garage to “see if the CO alarm works.” The button is the test. Do not idle a car in the garage even with the door open. The kitchen hood is not CO protection.

Those limits are in the carbon monoxide checklist. If an alarm sounds and you cannot explain it, everyone goes outside and calls from outside. Do not silence it and stay in to look for the cause you do not understand. This page does not teach first aid.

Step 4: Write the date you tested, then stop

A private note can say which alarms sounded and the replace-by date printed on each. It does not say a password. It does not say the house is safe for a year you invented. Do not post a clip of the test.

Candles and the fireplace are not part of the test: candle policy. Do not burn wrapping paper to “use the alarm.” A filter change is a different slot: filter and vents. The panel stays closed. You do not photograph breakers to document the alarm circuit.

What you should be able to point at

  • The smoke alarm button was pressed on the unit. A CO alarm, if you have one, got its own button. The app alone was not the test.
  • The replace-by date is the one printed on the unit. No universal ten-year rule was added.
  • The alarm was not moved, bagged, or put on a smart plug. Its battery was not borrowed.
  • No generator, grill, fuel heater, or idling car was used as the test. An unexplained alarm means everyone outside.
  • The note is private. No password. No breaker photo. Panel closed.

Example: two buttons, no app-only pass

They tell the house, then press the hallway smoke alarm. It sounds. The CO alarm on the same floor gets its own button. It sounds. They do not count a phone notification as either test. The replace-by dates printed on the backs go in a note. They do not write “good for ten years.” They do not pull a battery for a remote. They do not put either alarm on a smart plug. They do not start a car in the garage to see the CO light. The note stays in a drawer, not a post. Wrapping paper from the week stays in the trash, not the fireplace. The furnace filter is a different chore and they do not open the blower while they are there. The panel stayed closed.

Record both alarm types separately

A smoke alarm test does not confirm a separate carbon-monoxide alarm. Walk to each installed unit, read its model and replacement date, then test it as the maker directs. If a unit fails or is past its service life, replace it promptly; an app notification cannot substitute for an audible local alarm.

Last updated: October 29, 2026

Last reviewed October 22, 2026. Suggest a correction

Questions readers ask

Is the app test enough if we are downstairs?

No. Press the button on the alarm. If you quiet the phone, the alarm on the wall still has to be able to sound. Do not bag it or put it on a smart plug. Do not borrow the battery.

Do smoke alarms also detect carbon monoxide?

Only if that unit is labeled for both, and you still use its own test button. A smoke-only alarm is not CO protection. Do not idle a car in the garage or run a generator indoors, even with the door open. The hood is not a CO alarm.

Our alarm is nine years old. Should we replace it?

Use the replace-by date printed on the unit, or the booklet that came with it. This page does not set a ten-year rule. If the test fails, replace it with a listed alarm. Do not invent a date.

Can we test the CO alarm by running the car for a minute?

No. Use the button. Do not idle a car in the garage, even with the door open. Do not run a generator or a fuel heater inside. If an alarm sounds and you cannot explain it, go outside and call from outside.

Should we move the alarm closer to the kitchen for the new year?

Do not move it as part of this test. Leave it where it is mounted. Do not put it on a strip. If you are unsure it belongs there, ask a qualified person. Do not open the breaker panel to find its circuit. Do not photograph the panel.

Sources and methodology

Claims that depend on an outside authority are tied to the references below. Product details change. Confirm the current specification sheet before you buy or install anything.

  1. Smoke Alarms — USFA (government), accessed October 29, 2026. Supports the record both alarm types separately guidance; confirm local policy and product-specific instructions separately.

Information on this site is for general educational purposes and is not professional advice.

Parent topic: Home & Garden