The battery alert on one of our Co2/smoke detectors went out last night (what law of the universe dictates that this only happens in the middle of the night? ;))
During the night, all I was able to accomplish was clawing the damned thing off of the ceiling and disconnecting it. But today, we decided to Google the instructions and they recommend that you manually test it WEEKLY! Show of hands, folk. How many of you EVER test your smoke detectors - let alone weekly?
Wondered if you had any similar stories of NOT following manufacturers’ recommendations WRT any product you own?
I have a strict and rigid schedule for testing my smoke/CO alarms. Without fail, I do it … never!
(Of course, I definitely do it if there’s been an installation of a new unit in the system or a change in wiring or any other reason to run a test!)
Me, too. They’re just trying to sell more shampoo!
============
My washing machine manufacturer believes that I should periodically run the machine (I don’t remember their exact recommendation) on a “clean” cycle using their proprietary “cleaning tabs”. My schedule for doing this is exactly the same as my schedule for testing my smoke/CO detectors. I figure, it’s a washing machine, it should be able to wash itself!
I read a tip (probably here), that said you should do your white load last, and add a bit of bleach. Then you’ll never have to worry about that “cleaning your machine” foolishness.
The label on a jug of motor oil will often say, “Protects for 10,000 miles!” or “Protects for 20,000 miles!” And the owner’s manual for the car will often recommend 7,500 between oil changes or higher. I ignore all of those and change the oil every 5,000 to 6,000 miles.
If I’m remembering correctly when I got my Bay Medical Alert system I was told that I should test it weekly to make sure that it would work properly if I ever actually had a medical emergency. Outside of a few times when I’ve accidentally activated it (or in one case when my cat stepped on my chest) I’ve never had to explain to the service operator that I am not actually having an emergency.
About 3 months ago, when many Chromecasts suddenly died, I bought myself a Google Streamer to replace mine. I took it home, plugged it in and installed it without reading anything. Last week I accidently discovered that I can use voice commands for functions and searches without the laborious tapping of buttons on the remote. I felt pretty stupid since one of the very few buttons on the remote clearly shows a microphone icon.