Home Safeguard 25S 2.5-Oz. Smoke Detector Tester Spray

Works well. The trick to using this product effectively is to do very short (1/4 second) bursts about 6 to 8 inches away, then WAIT 5 to 10 seconds for the detector to sound. Just a tiny puff of this, at that distance, will trigger a working smoke detector.There is no need to blast 2 to 4 seconds (or more) as if you are applying hair spray or spray paint, that is a tremendous waste of expensive product. Also, overloading the sensor with tons of excess product may result in a re-tripping situation where the alarm keeps sounding over and over because the product has not yet cleared from the smoke chamber.The only time you would use a 1-second or longer burst is if you cannot get the spray can closer than 2 feet away. In that case, the extra spray volume may be needed to close the gap between the sprayer & the detector. But in such a case it really would make more sense to use a ladder or a dedicated smoke-testing sprayer stick, rather than wasting expensive product.

I recently had a local security firm install 4 smoke detectors as part of their system. I agreed to do the monthly testing needed. They recommended I try SmokeTest as the easiest way to do a real smoke test.I bought a can, and discovered that it only took a half-second spray from a one-foot distance from the detector to start the alarm. You have to wait about 5-10 seconds after spraying it for the smoke to penetrate into the sensor. Then the alarm sounds. I found that if you wave a magazine, etc., below it, that helps to stop the alarm quicker by getting fresh air to the sensor. I am very pleased with this product.

tested on a several different brand smoke detectors. Just two brief spray bursts aimed at the top of the detector and detector went off about 80% of the time. No detector failed to alarm, but some required more than one attempt.

Although sometimes must spray a good bit longer than directed (thus exhausting the can's contents quicker than expected), it ultimately will trigger the tested smoke alarm. So it works, but it's rather expensive for what it provides.

This is the ONLY way to be sure that your smoke detectors are really working as pushing the test button will only test the sounder and parts of the electronic circuits. Only by putting smoke into the detector chamber can you be sure the unit will actually work when real smoke occurs.I was able to test all of our smoke detectors and family ones without the can running out, and I had bought two based on other reviews in case it ran out. One can is more than enough for a single home, but buying two will ensure that you can test your smoke detectors regularly (at least annually).This is a life saver.

Used it once and it worked fine. I tried again a year later, the canister was empty. It must have been leaking.

I just explained!

While you can test your smoke alarm by pressing a button, this is not a true test. The only way to ensure that your smoke detector is operating properly is to create smoke. We do not smoke and Safeguard spray provided a way to accurately test the alarm. I used the spray a few minutes ago and all of our smoke detectors are working properly. I put this on the calendar to perform the test every six months.It is a good product and a wise investment.