How to prepare for daylight savings time..

Well, as most everyone knows this weekend we change our clocks again for the annual 'lets keep America tired' Government program that is aimed at saving energy. Help me! Just a simple How-to-Get'er Done.


First, locate your Carbon Monoxide detector, should look something like the one in the picture. Press and hold the test button until you hear an obnoxious beeping noise, that is good as it means the unit is functioning. Some units are battery operated so they need to have the occasional battery replacement, but other plug directly into the outlet. The average life expectancy for the sensor in the Carbon Monoxide detector is about five years, so if your unit is really old find a UL listed replacement.


Next, lets find all the smoke detectors, and those look something similar to the one pictured below. Once again, press and hold the test button until you hear an obnoxious noise, this could be hazardous to your health as it might cause a stampede for the dining room. If the units isn't functioning correctly check the battery and replace if the unit is battery operated. The average life expectancy of a smoke detector is ten years, so replacing units older than that would be appropriate. If you are replacing battery operated smoke detectors, might I suggest the units that have a ten year lithium battery. Yes I know, I just recommended a disposable item instead of one that has a replaceable battery. Yipes!


One more step, locate the fire extinguisher (hopefully you replaced it after the 'dinners done kitchen fire') and lets check the pressure gauges. The needles should be in the green area (NOTE: If you are color blind, have someone else perform this step.) Replace or service all units that have needles in the red.

And that is how we deal with daylight savings time. Oh wait, don't forget to add an hour onto all the clocks in your house and to verify all computer devices have automatically adjusted for the event.

This public service announcement was brought to you by Freddy the Fireman. Thanks for listening...