Carbon Monoxide Detectors – Choose good quality carbon monoxide alarms from local Home Depot or Loews – don’t be cheap. At a minimum, industry experts recommend a CO alarm be installed on each level of the home — ideally on any level with fuel burning appliances and outside of sleeping areas. Additional CO alarms are recommended 5-20 feet from sources of CO such as a furnace, water heater or fireplace. Choose locations free of obstructions, where the alarm will stay clean and protected from adverse environmental conditions, and check them regularly. For selling purposes, CO detectors may be either hard wired or battery powered, and back up batteries are not required. When in doubt, overdo it.
Detectors can be located either at a high or low height. CO, or carbon monoxide, is the same gravity (0.9657) as air, hence detectors may be placed wherever there is air and where you can readily hear it. Do not put them in bathrooms, closets, or storage spaces where you can not hear them go off. If a bedroom has a gas fireplace, install a carbon monoxide detector in that bedroom also.
Smoke Detectors – State of California code recommends placement of at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home (including basements), in every bedroom, and outside each sleeping area. If the home is large and has ‘wings’, more smoke detectors in hallways may be required. Interconnected smoke detectors are recommended but not required when selling. If not interconnected, and the home is large, more detectors may be required depending on floorplan.
Detectors must be located as high as possible height-wise, either on the ceiling or the wall near the ceiling. Avoid installing them at the very top of a ceiling ‘vault’ as it may be a smoke repelling air pocket. Avoid installing them in the kitchen area. Smoke detectors should be at least three feet away from a fan or air duct. If a smoke detector is too high to be tested, assume it does not work and install one at a lower, reachable height.
Detectors in ADUs, guest units, rec rooms and detached storage rooms when selling – If a home has a separate or detached living area, ie ADU, guest unit, etc, which may be intended for sleeping purposes at some point in time, a smoke detector is required in any bedroom area and outside the area. If there is gas to the unit, ie stove, heater, water heater, etc then a carbon monoxide detector is required. This applies to units that may or may not be permitted. Lack of permit does not exempt safety concerns and the need for life saving detectors.
RECALL on Ebay cheap foreign made CO (carbon monoxide) detectors – more here
Call us with any questions you may have about where or how to install smoke and CO detectors in your home at 310-800-4418.
