The best place for your smoke alarms:

• On every level of your home, including the basement and workshop
  
  
• Outside every bedroom
  
  
• On the ceiling or on the wall, 6 to 12 inches below the ceiling. Keep detectors away from air vents.
  
  

Check the alarm batteries once a month by pressing the test button with your finger. The batteries should be replaced once a year.

You should clean the alarm by following the manufacturer's instructions. The grillwork on the detector should be vacuumed periodically to keep it dust-free.

To prevent false alarms, move the detector away from a kitchen or bathroom. You may also want to consider purchasing a smoke alarm, like a photoelectric, that's less sensitive to common causes of false alarms. Some smoke alarms also are equipped with a silencing feature, so that nuisance alarms can be stopped quickly and easily.