Your smoke detectors work great until one day or night they go off for no reason, and why is that? Here are the most common reasons smoke detectors trigger a false alarm, and usually at the worst time.
- Steam – Showers or cooking food creates steam which sets off most alarms. Move the detector away from any steam source.
- Dust and dirt – Dust or dirt combined with hot air will trigger a false alarm. Dust off the detector and blow out any dust from the sensor. Smoke detectors are magnets for dust and dirt especially near ceiling fans.
- Low battery – Especially in colder months, low battery voltage will trigger an alarm. Replace the battery or batteries if unsure to see if the batteries are the cause.
- Dead detector – After 10 years, some smoke detectors have an ‘end of life’ trigger which will sound an alarm you can not turn off. Check the dates on the detector to see if its over 10 years old, and if so, you’ll need to discard the detector.
- Malfunction – Not common, but occasionally detectors just fail, just like anything else. First replace batteries to see if that’s the issue, make sure any electrical connections are secure, and then replace with a new working detector if necessary.
Not worth the risk of having no correctly working smoke detector for you and your family – best to replace if you are worried about lacking smoke detector coverage.
Questions? Ask below in the comment section or call us at 310-800-4418.
