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Original poster

Please help with my smoke alarm problem

35 replies

Hoverfly1 · 10/06/2025 22:49

Sorry not an aibu but I need some help. My hardwired interconnected smoke alarms will not stop going off I think there is dust stuck in one of them but no amount of hoovering or dusting will stop them going off for the last 2 hours. I live in a rented house so didn’t install them, I have looked for a fuse but can’t find one. Tried just turning the electricity off at the mains but that didn’t make any difference as they must have back up batteries and I suspect trying to remove them will make all the connected alarms go crazy.

I am currently sitting under with a brush silencing it every 5 mins when it goes
off but I can’t spend all night like this and they are still waking my kids and probably neighbours up every time…. Does anyone have any kind of solution? 🙏

OP posts:
Original poster
Hoverfly1 · 10/06/2025 23:12

I’ve just spoken to the housing association emergency line and they won’t send anyone out to deal with them tonight.

from the instructions I can find online i thin you have to turn of the electricity to remove them and there is no mention of changing the batteries!

OP posts:
Idabelle · 10/06/2025 23:08

Random but have you tried opening windows? This happened to me, apparently too much stale air in a room can set them off or something along those lines.

totalwinwin · 10/06/2025 23:07

Can you unscrew them? Ours did this once because of dust - we could unscrew them from the wall and blow into them and that sorted it.

FinancialWhines · 10/06/2025 22:57

I'd call the landlord too.
If they whip them out they MUST also stick up new working alarms with batteries at the same time.

Original poster
Hoverfly1 · 10/06/2025 22:56

Thank you, I have no idea how to even change the batteries there doesn’t seem to be anyway to get into it,
I’m sure it’s dust as kids were messing around chucking teddies around under it when if first went off. This has happed before but usually hoovering it will fix it

OP posts:
sunshineandskyscrapers · 10/06/2025 22:55

You either need to replace the batteries, or you need to replace the smoke alarms themselves. Mine did this after about twelve years. They are supposed to last around ten years.

BertieBotts · 10/06/2025 22:54

Google the non emergency number of your local fire station and ask if someone will come round? If it's a quiet night they might do it.

JustPloddingOnBy · 10/06/2025 22:52

Have you tried changing the batteries? This happened to me and it was because the batteries needed changing.

Vickim03 · 10/06/2025 22:52

They need replacing. We had this and had to put in 2 new ones as one sets the other off. We changed the back up batteries prior to contacting the electrician.

leopardprint17 · 10/06/2025 22:50

Ring your landlord

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