After your Smoke Alarm is mounted on Alarm Tender on the wall, there are no tools needed to reach your Alarm.  Just slide the Alarm Tender™ down, tend your Alarm, then slide the Alarm Tender™ up. Sliding the Alarm Tender™ up a little more makes the spare battery storage area accessible.

Q:   Can kids access the smoke alarm?

A:  Do you want them to be able to reach the alarm?  If so, yes they can.  If not, a bolt or a small padlock, available from our SHOP, can be placed thru the holes of the Base and the Cover of the Alarm Tender™, to make your smoke alarm tamper resistant.

Parents can teach their children good safety habits by installing an Alarm Tender™ in each bedroom. Together you can change the decorations monthly, when you test the smoke alarm.

Q:   I heard you can train your pets to alert you to a smoke alarm sound?

A:    Yes you can.  We recommend the books “Lend Me An Ear” by Martha Hoffman and “Smoke Alarm Training” by Anders Hallgren. Clicker training can be used; www.clickertraining.com is a great source. We encourage shelters to train pets to alert to smoke alarms, making the pets more adoptable.

Q:   Does Alarm Tender™ Original work with AC/DC hardwired smoke alarms?

A:    No, but Alarm Tender™ AC/DC is coming soon.  If you currently have hardwired alarms, you can provide extra fire safety NOW in your home by having a battery powered smoke alarm mounted on Alarm Tender™, in addition to your hardwired alarms.

Q:   Don’t you think the Alarm Tender™ is funny looking?

A:   Yes, until you add some decorations, paint or contact paper,  Most people do not even notice the Alarm Tender when it’s holding decorations, photos, or a clock. 

Contact paper can be added, to create the appearance of wood grain. In a workshop or office, an Alarm Tender™ can hold a pen and notepad. And remember, you can slide the Alarm Tender™ down to lower the decorations and then raise the decorations back up, too. Seasonal art can help remind the homeowner to test the alarms monthly.

Decorated for a kid's room - she wanted hearts and doggies!

And, when a small clock is used, it acts as a reminder to change the smoke alarm’s battery when the clocks are changed for daylight savings time.

Also, when you mount the Alarm Tender to the side of a suitable doorframe, it's barely noticeable.

Check out our decorations page. Email us pictures of your decorations and we'll try to post them!  

Q:   How difficult is it to attach Alarm Tender™ to a wall? I worry about my elderly relatives climbing on chairs or ladders to install their smoke alarms.

A:  Check with your local fire codes first to see if you can attach the Alarm Tender with the peel and stick tape that comes on the back of Alarm Tender™. Otherwise, you can attach the base of Alarm Tender with 2 or 3 screws. Just have to do it once and then you're all set to go.

Q:   Can I have a smoke alarm on an Alarm Tender™ in my kitchen?

A:    Yes, now you can.  Some smoke alarm manuals recommend that you do not have an alarm in your kitchen or garage, where false alarms frequently occur.  However, when a smoke alarm with a “hush” button is mounted on an Alarm Tender™, false alarms can easily be silenced, and then, more importantly, you will be alerted if a real fire would occur.  Many house fires start in the kitchen or garage.

Q:   Why doesn’t Alarm Tender™ come with a smoke alarm attached?

A:    There’s a great variety of smoke alarms, each designed to work in various situations. We have found that most homeowners prefer to decide which alarm is best for each location. And some people already have some battery powered smoke alarms, so they can attach their current alarm to Alarm Tender™.

New alarms and combinations of alarms (smoke and carbon monoxide, for example) are frequently becoming available.

There are even wireless smoke alarms that communicate with other alarms, so you can tell where in the house the smoke is originating. If you place a communicating alarm in an outbuilding, garage or stable, you can be alerted in the house if it would detect smoke.

Q:   I don’t want to make more holes in my walls.  Is there any alternative to mounting Alarm Tender™ on the wall?

A:    Yes, if you have a wooden doorframe in the room (at the proper location), you can attach the Alarm Tender™ to the side of a doorframe with the optional  Door Frame Attachment Bracket.  The Bracket is available on our SHOP page.