Daylight saving time ends this weekend, set your clocks before bed | Home & Garden

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WECT) – Daylight saving time ends this weekend, which means we all will have an extra hour of sleep!

Don’t forget before you go to bed tonight to set all of your clocks, watches, microwaves and ovens back one hour. Most smart phones will adjust on their own at 2 a.m. on Sunday, so you don’t have to worry about them.

[Check out this video by Ellen DeGeneres to help people remember the difference between falling back and springing forward.]

As you change your clocks, the local fire departments are reminding folks to also change the batteries in all smoke alarms.

David Hines, with the Wilmington Fire Department, provided the following tips to help ensure your family receives a life-saving warning if a fire starts in your home:

• Dust or vacuum smoke alarms when you change the batteries.
• Test alarms once a month using the test button.
• Replace the entire alarm if it's more than 10 years old or doesn't work properly when tested.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor alarms.
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout your home so that when one sounds, they all sound. Interconnected alarms are available at most stores that sell smoke alarms.
• Make sure everyone in your home understands the warning of the smoke alarm and knows how to respond.

Copyright 2011 WECT. All rights reserved.