Public Service Announcement, AKA Hubband's big weekend project.

Did you know that the smoke detectors we all have in our homes (you do have one, don't you?) wear out/become ineffective after about ten years and need to be replaced? I bet Chan knew. (Or maybe the smoke detector makers are just pulling our leg and finding a way to stay in business; I guess I can't really blame them at this point.) Anywhos.... I looked at some at the store last week, realized we needed to consult Consumer Reports, and figure out about the whole hard-wired to the house category that ours fall into. So, research was done, and we were able to determine that we could get ones that were carbon monoxide/smoke combos so that we wouldn't be breaking the law any more, as well as be able to have a temporary override button. (MN passed a law last session that all single family homes needed CO detectors as of last July 1st. Multi-family/rentals don't need them in place for either six months or a year after that.) The one in our kitchen tended to go off a fair amount. Not that I really burn stuff very often, other than spilled cornmeal, but it was very sensitive. (I was told by a friend of our that when they go off that easily it is a sign that they are wearing out.)
Anyway, Hubband went off and bought three new proper detectors and a new fire extinguisher. These need to be replaced every some number of years too; I just don't know how many, maybe it depends on the size and type. We knew that needed replacing as the last time it was recharged (I hope everyone knows that they have to be recharged periodically even if you don't ever use it) we were told that it was old enough that they couldn't do it again after that. Then he and DTE did a bit of research to determine which circuit breaker shut off the power to the smoke detectors and all were replaced and set up. The new extinguisher is in the kitchen pantry and the old one is out on the patio. (Even if it doesn't work exactly like it should, we are hoping that it buys a little bit of time to come out with the new one and place the proper phone call if we were to have an issue with the fire pit. Well, we can always hope we never need to test the theory.)

So, there you have it, a weekend report that is also a very important PSA. Please check the date sticker on your smoke detectors, replace them if they are more than ten years old, make sure you have a charged and current fire extinguisher, and a CO detector. 'Cause as they say, "Hey, let's be careful out there," [and safe].