Spring Cleaning Checklist: How to Maintain Home Security Equipment

When it’s time to create a spring cleaning checklist, many of us will add everything to it but our home security and smart home equipment. This isn’t hard to believe. Most people don’t think these items need as much attention as, say, their toilet bowl or hardwood floors. But the truth is, for your equipment to stay highly-functioning it will need a little maintenance. Keep scrolling to learn how you can give your entire home a fresh start this season with a few easy-to-follow tips and tricks.

How to Maintain Your Home Security Equipment

As homeowners, we install home security equipment to protect our loved ones. And the only way our home security equipment can keep us safe is when it’s properly functioning. Make sure the most important equipment in your home is in tip-top shape by adding them to your spring cleaning checklist and following these suggestions.

• Test your equipment
• Clean your equipment
• Replace batteries

Smoke Detectors

The last thing any homeowner wants is to have their smoke detector not work when they need it. These detectors hang on our ceiling, forgotten and unnoticed until they chirp to warn us of danger. Because of the critical role they play in our home, we must set aside some time this spring to keep the smoke detector as good as new.

Test Your Smoke Detector

You can maintain your smoke detector by testing the life safety device. Ideally, you should test your detector weekly. However, sometimes life happens and we humans forget to do things. If this is the case for you, then try to conduct a test at least once a month to make sure everything works properly. If you can’t test weekly, then aim for once a month.

Clean Your Smoke Detector

Unlike other household items, our smoke detectors don’t call for an elaborate cleaning. Instead, a gentle wiping is all it needs to relieve it from clunky debris. If left unaddressed, debris can keep your smoke detector from working when you need it most.

For the best results, take a look at your device’s user manual to review the preferred cleaning methods. However, if you’re unable to find your user manual, the most common cleaning procedure includes vacuuming out the detector and wiping the outside vents.

Replace Your Smoke Detector’s Batteries

If you want your smoke detector to stay alert, then you’ll need to replace the batteries. It’s as simple as that. We recommend switching out your smoke detector’s batteries twice a year. An easy way to track the maintenance is to align the replacement with the seasonal time change. So change the smoke detector’s batteries once for fall back and again when it’s time to spring ahead.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Test Your Carbon Monoxide Detector

Similar to a smoke detector, you need to test your carbon monoxide detector so it can stay in tip-top shape. We suggest testing your carbon monoxide detector once a month to keep it closely monitoring the air in your home.

Clean Your Carbon Monoxide Detector

Dust and debris is your carbon monoxide detector’s worse enemy. These particles clog the detector and make it difficult to get a clear reading of your home. To cleaning your CO detector most efficiently, we recommend using the methods provided in your CO detector’s user manual. If the manual is unavailable, then you can try to remove dust and debris with a soft cloth and the gentle brush attached to your vacuum cleaner.

Replace Your Carbon Monoxide Detector’s Batteries

A carbon monoxide detector can’t work properly without functioning batteries.

Make sure you replace your batteries twice a year. Similar to smoke detectors, you can keep track of when you need a new set of batteries with the seasonal time change.

Security Cameras

Our security cameras are the eyes, and sometimes ears, of our home while we’re away. We rely on these compact cameras to capture crystal clear footage of movement so we can stay up-to-date on important activity. But if a security camera has a dirty lens from a storm or sticky fingerprints, we won’t be able to see what’s happening. That’s why you should take some time this spring to whip out your microfiber cloth and clean your security camera’s lens. A gentle wipe is all they need.

How to Maintain Your Smart Home Security Equipment

Smart home security merges automation with protection. When you connect your smart home products with your home security system, you’re creating an environment where locking the doors, arming your panel and even closing your garage can be done from the sound of your voice using a smart speaker. In many cases, we can call on Alexa to enact important safety features. However, Alexa won’t be able to hear if her speakers are covered in crumbs and debris.

Yes, You Can Clean Your Amazon Echo Dot

Yes, your smart speaker deserves a little attention this spring, too. So find a microfiber cloth and get to wiping. But first, you can make the overall cleaning experience easier by gently tapping your Echo Dot’s speaker to remove the light debris sitting on its surface. For the harder-to-reach bits of dirt tucked within a crevice, use toothpick to dig away and clean.

Is your Alexa looking drab from collecting pet hair? You can get away with using a lint roller to keep Alexa’s fabric looking nice. For the lint that’s tough to remove, try using a vacuum cleaner’s brush.

Go Beyond Spring Cleaning

As we’ve mentioned throughout this article, your home security and smart home equipment deserve routine maintenance. And by routine we mean more than just once a year when spring is on the horizon. But you can start by adding them to your spring cleaning checklist.

Make it a priority to check in on some of your home’s most important items throughout the year. This will ensure it’s working when you need it.

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