You might have experienced the panic that a smoke alarm created interrupting your sleep at mid night and woke up to find its fake. This is not an uncommon situation. There are number of cases of smoke alarm going off at night, which happened for various reasons. They can be the fake sound that the alarm might have created due to its low battery life or bugs.
This article is about what are the possibilities of fake alarm and how they can be controlled.
Low Battery Life
Smoke alarms emits a sound when the battery is about to die. It can be different from that of the original smoke alarm but at the middle of the night it might not be possible for you to differentiate between them. There are chances of misplacement of the batteries. So, check and replace them if necessary. Use better quality batteries that are strong enough to run long.
Similar issue can also be seen in main powered alarms, the irregular sound produced by them might indicate the interruptions in main power supply. Some alarms come with green and red lights that indicate the connection. The green light goes off when it is disconnected with the main power supply and connected to backup battery. Also check the battery life in case of false alarm of main powered alarms.
Replacement of smoke alarms
Like batteries, smoke alarms come with an expiry date. Their replacement dates vary from 7-10 years depending on the brand. When you hear strange beeping sound from the alarm which is not due to the batteries, chances are that it might be due to its expiry date.
Placement of Smoke Alarm
You need to consider the location of the placement of smoke alarms when you face continuous fake alarms. Places that produce a bit of smoke or steam can trigger the alarm. Kitchens, Stairways, bedrooms are the ideal places for having a smoke alarm. The placement of them should be checked through before installing.
Dust and Bugs might trouble
Dust and Bugs can be misinterpreted as smoke by the alarms that wakes you up in the middle of night. The movement of bug or presence of dust is reasonable enough to trigger the alarm. They seem unusual but is a serious problem that can be solved by simply maintaining the alarm a bit clean. Remove the casing of smoke alarm and make sure it is clean.
Check for Humidity
Humidity can also be a reason for the detectors’ misjudgement. If the temperature inside the room decreases the fire alarm might trigger. So maintain the temperature of the room or close the windows to restrict cold air from entering into the house.
While we all know the importance of a fire alarm, it is not recommended to disconnect them to cope up with the disturbances during the night. Take necessary steps and consult a professional if you are unable to detect from the mentioned cases.