Most of us know that we should be shifting our smoke detector batteries annually but you may not understand that you ought to clean your smoke detectors every 6 weeks. Dust, dirt, and pollens can accumulate on the outside screen and prevent the sensor from working properly.
There are two primary types of sensors:
- photoelectric
- ionization
Photoelectric Smoke Detectors
Photoelectric smoke detectors are designed for detecting smoke where there’s smoke although not necessarily flames. Photoelectric sensors are the most frequently used type of sensor. A photoelectric type smoke alarm is made up of the light emitting diode and a light sensitive detector in the sensing chamber.
Ionization Smoke Detectors
An ionization type smoke alarm uses a small number of a radioactive substance to ionize air in the sensing chamber. Ionization type sensors work best for quickly spreading fires in combustible materials, where there are plenty of flames but little smoke. Ionization type sensors are often used in kitchens because they are less likely to be falsely triggered by cooking fumes. If you want to find the best smoke detectors on the market, and other fire safety information then you can browse the website-http://www.cakengineer.com/service_des.php?newsid=29.
How do you wash a smoke detector?
If your solution is just to grab a can of compressed air and blow it out then I’m sorry but WRONG!Over time your sensor will collect dust dirt and other particles on the display located on the exterior of your sensor. This is the same display that has to allow smoke to enter the room so the sensor can “detect”.
If you use compressed air to blow it out when you’re actually blowing a fair quantity of the particles deeper into the room which will just make the sensor worse.