Some home safety systems only matter in the moment they're needed, which makes them easy to forget about the rest of the time. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and the broader question of indoor air safety, reward a homeowner who checks and maintains them on a schedule rather than waiting for a problem to force the issue.
The guides here draw on official safety guidance -- USFA, CPSC, and EPA -- to walk through coverage, testing, replacement age, and the response homeowners should already know before an alarm ever sounds.
Every guide in this section works through the same core questions:
Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside sleeping areas, and on every level of the home including the basement; install CO alarms on every level and outside sleeping areas; test both monthly and replace smoke alarms 10 years from the manufacture date.
Test every home for radon with a qualified short-term or long-term test placed in the lowest lived-in level under closed-house conditions, and follow up or mitigate if the result is 4 pCi/L or higher.
EPA recommends keeping indoor relative humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50 percent, and using a moisture or humidity gauge to check it -- if readings repeatedly climb above that range, look for the moisture source (showers, cooking, humidifiers, leaks, poor exhaust) rather than just running a dehumidifier and hoping the number improves.
Check that your fire extinguisher is accessible, shows the correct class for the hazard it protects, has a pressure gauge reading in the operable range, and shows no visible damage; because extinguishers don't share one universal replacement interval, follow the manufacturer's or servicer's maintenance instructions, and only attempt to fight a small, contained fire if you've alerted others, called the fire department, are physically able, have a clear escape route, and are not in danger from smoke -- otherwise, evacuate and call 911.
If your home was built before 1978 and your renovation will disturb painted surfaces, treat lead as a real possibility, determine whether lead-based paint is present (or presume it is) before work begins, and hire a Lead-Safe Certified contractor; paid renovation work is generally subject to EPA's RRP Rule, homeowner DIY in an owner-occupied home generally is not, but renting the property, running childcare there, or renovating it for profit changes that answer.