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Smoke alarm keeps going off but there's no smoke or steam

12 replies

YellowPrincess · 07/10/2024 15:04

My mother's home is a bungalow. I think she might likely have dementia because she's paranoid. She has two smoke alarms in the hall. They are not connected to a system. They are separate. She has two because she is paranoid. It's a bungalow and there's no need for two of them. One would be more than enough.

The one up the hall keeps going off. It was only put on the ceiling this summer so the battery should still be good. But there's no fire. There's no steam from showers or cooking. There's no candles.

Yesterday the smoke alarm went off and then again this afternoon.

I do vape but usually in the sitting room and with a window off but I don't spend all my time vaping. I vaped yesterday but and hour and half went by and I didn't vape and I was in the kitchen and the smoke alarm with off. It can't possibly be that.

My mother is being paranoid. She wants me to have the answers for this and I am thinking a battery issue but then she won't let me touch it.

GPs keep dismissing my concerns and I don't have a diagnosis for her. I see behavioural stuff with her all the time and GPs are citing memory loss to me.

What the heck - about the smoke alarms?

I think if it happens again I will say it's battery and I will dismantle the smoke alarm up the hall when she's not at home. She can still manage some stuff within her day to day life so next time she leaves I will dismantle it.

It's ahouse that's not insulated by the way and it's cold a lot of the time so it's not heat related.

OP posts:
purplecorkheart · 07/10/2024 15:07

I know you say that the alarm is only recently installed but it could have been in the shop for years. Some fire alarms actually expire. When this happened to mine it went off a few times randomly.

FoxtrotOscarKindaDay · 07/10/2024 15:08

Change the battery, it could be faulty.

LBOCS2 · 07/10/2024 15:10

Have you tried vacuuming it? The standard sort of detector use pulsed light to register for smoke particles and dust can sometimes mimic that and cause false alarms.

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YellowPrincess · 07/10/2024 15:11

purplecorkheart · 07/10/2024 15:07

I know you say that the alarm is only recently installed but it could have been in the shop for years. Some fire alarms actually expire. When this happened to mine it went off a few times randomly.

Ordered from Amazon so who knows

OP posts:
YellowPrincess · 07/10/2024 15:12

LBOCS2 · 07/10/2024 15:10

Have you tried vacuuming it? The standard sort of detector use pulsed light to register for smoke particles and dust can sometimes mimic that and cause false alarms.

That could be a strong contender as a spossiblty.

OP posts:
pizzaHeart · 07/10/2024 15:12

It could be battery. Also our alarm once went off because the insect went in.
Can you call local fire station, they used to do some sort of property checks and give an advice for fire safety? It might calm down your mum and it’s useful anyway.

DuncanMcleod · 07/10/2024 15:13

Did it come with batteries supplied? We bought a couple once and the supplied batteries were way out of date, the alarms must have been in storage for years (I think they were from B&Q). They gave us a refund.

Flopsythebunny · 07/10/2024 15:37

Dust or a faulty battery

Lifeasweknowitisrandom · 07/10/2024 15:41

It's not paranoid to want two smoke alarms. How unkind. It's blinkin sensible even in a bungalow. If one fails then there's a back up.

It'll probably be a battery issue, dust inside the system or they're past their best and need replacing. Personally I'd replace both as they'll just keep doing it and it's awful if it happens in the night and wakes you up.

It happened to mine and I was on edge until they were replaced as I didn't know what was setting them off or when it would happen.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 07/10/2024 15:41

Any spider webs near there?

mumda · 07/10/2024 15:42

Ring the local fire brigade. Most do free smoke alarm fitting.

TheSpottedZebra · 07/10/2024 15:53

It's possibly faulty?

I bought 2, with non-replaceable batteries that ought to have lasted for 10 years. One just went off at random.

I emailed the company (Fire Angel) who were excellent, they asked for a few details and sent me a new one out ASAP.

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