If you had a problem with your smoke detectors you would call....who?

[Anonymous]

Our smoke detector/fire alarm randomly went off in the middle of the night last night. (No evidence of fire or smoke anywhere in the house.)

The home is less than two years old and the fire alarm in question is both hard-wired into the home's electrical system and has a battery.

We'd like to have someone look at it and determine why it went off and to service it if need be.

Who would you call for this? An electrician?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't call anyone.

I'd replace them if it happened again, or write it off as a random one off occurrence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't call anyone.

I'd replace them if it happened again, or write it off as a random one off occurrence.

This. They aren't exactly expensive or hard to replace

[Anonymous]

Figure out the brand. Get up on the ladder and find the model number.

Get the instruction manual from the web. Read all.the information in it about installation, false alarms, and troubleshooting.

Top unexplained causes of beeping:

1) Defective unit
2) Spiders got in it
3) Weird humidity effects in one part of your room
4) Bad 10 year lithium batteries

Strategies for fixing:

1) Vacuum unit per manual to remove dust and/or spiders

2) If unit is removable, you likely can get another from the same brand from Amazon or Home Depot and plug it in. Different brands have different trim rings and electrical wiring harness plugs.

Sadly, fire alarms have a lot of quality issues and recalls. If you need to replace "all" it can be several hundred dollars. You can try to get satisfaction from the manufacturer. But there are complaints about all major brands.

So this is why you first check to make sure it's not dust or spiders.

If above doesn't work, you need an electrician or a handyman who does some light wiring tasks.

[Anonymous]

Call someone? Replace the battery.

[Anonymous]

You can call your local fire station. Google the number. They will come out.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the area is well ventilated when using strong cleaners which emit chemical fumes. Those can trigger false alarms.

https://www.servicemaster-restorationbysimons.com/blog/8-causes-of-false-alarms-in-smoke-detectors/#:~:text=Strong%20cleaning%20chemicals%20that%20use,you%20to%20breathe%20in%20either.

[Anonymous]

Get the model number and buy a replacement on Amazon. It will probably be here tomorrow. Just not worth futzing with.

The biggest issue will be deciding whether to dispose of it properly or just chucking it in the trash when you find out the hazardous waste collection event won't take them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't call anyone.

I'd replace them if it happened again, or write it off as a random one off occurrence.

This. They aren't exactly expensive or hard to replace

I don't trust myself to do the necessary wiring -- it's hard-wired into the house. But the suggestions for locating a manual with standard troubleshooting issues is a good idea, one I did not think of at 5 a.m. when it went off.

Thanks everyone.

- OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get the model number and buy a replacement on Amazon. It will probably be here tomorrow. Just not worth futzing with.

The biggest issue will be deciding whether to dispose of it properly or just chucking it in the trash when you find out the hazardous waste collection event won't take them.

Yep this - even the hardwired ones are super easy to change out. It’s all just plug and play. We had the same thing happen with our new construction home about a year in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't call anyone.

I'd replace them if it happened again, or write it off as a random one off occurrence.

This. They aren't exactly expensive or hard to replace

I don't trust myself to do the necessary wiring -- it's hard-wired into the house. But the suggestions for locating a manual with standard troubleshooting issues is a good idea, one I did not think of at 5 a.m. when it went off.

Thanks everyone.

- OP

It isn’t hardwired like a light or outlet would be - there’s a little adapter that you basically just unplug and plug back into the new smoke detector. Super easy. If you can charge your iPhone you can do this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get the model number and buy a replacement on Amazon. It will probably be here tomorrow. Just not worth futzing with.

The biggest issue will be deciding whether to dispose of it properly or just chucking it in the trash when you find out the hazardous waste collection event won't take them.

If it's spiders or humidity, the same thing will happen again if you stick to the same brand. If it's dust, it will happen again in a year or two.

Many say to vacuum annually.

Brand-new units are also a crap shoot.

[Anonymous]

OP, I once called the non-emergency fire line for an alarm going off for no reason, and they came right away and were very kind and helpful. They spotted a problem with one of our units and recommended that I have an electrician replace it, because they said it can be much tricker than civilians think. Just wanted to be one voice saying, trust your instinct and have an electrician do it if you are not confident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I once called the non-emergency fire line for an alarm going off for no reason, and they came right away and were very kind and helpful. They spotted a problem with one of our units and recommended that I have an electrician replace it, because they said it can be much tricker than civilians think. Just wanted to be one voice saying, trust your instinct and have an electrician do it if you are not confident.

They said this because you are the kind of person who calls the fire department for an alarm going off for no reason and they don’t want you to do it again

[Anonymous]

OP it is not literally hardwired into your ceiling. Please do not call a contractor/handyman. They will laugh all the way to the bank.