3 Common Causes of Erratic Smoke Detector Beeping and Repair Measures to Take
Although they often stay in the subconscious part of the mind, smoke detectors play a critical role in ensuring that your home and family are safe from fire and smoke-related hazards. Fitted with highly sensitive components, smoke detectors can detect relatively low amounts of smoke and alert the homeowner early enough. However, although they are a necessary safety feature in the home, smoke detectors can become extremely bothersome if they are constantly chirping. It is especially the case if they malfunction and cannot stop beeping no matter what you do. This article highlights the possible causes of such malfunctions and the corrective measures to take.
Battery Issues
Some people wonder why a smoke detector would use a battery set when they are connected directly to the electrical system in your home. Due to the critical function they perform, smoke detectors have to stay on at all times, even during power outages. A battery set, therefore, provides the necessary back up in the event of an electrical issue with the wiring system. In some cases, the battery seating gets dirty which activates the smoke detector. In turn, the device keeps beeping until the problem is solved. The same happens if the batteries are dying. Therefore, cleaning the battery seating and replacing dying batteries will prevent unnecessary beeping from your smoke detector.
Ageing Smoke Detector
Although smoke detectors have a fixed service life, few homeowners know the age of the smoke alarms in their homes. It makes it difficult to know when to replace an ageing smoke detector until the equipment starts beeping continuously. Even then, most people think that it is an electrical malfunction and address it as such. Therefore, if your smoke detector keeps beeping, then it might be an "end-of-life" warning. The issue can only be corrected by replacing the sensor. Calling a manufacturer and enquiring on the model's year of manufacture will give you a rough idea of the age of a smoke detector. Consequently, it will help you to tell the cause of the annoying beeping sound.
Dirty Smoke Alarm
For a smoke alarm to work effectively, it must be made of highly sensitive sensors. Once the slightest bit of smoke hits the sensor, the device goes off. Unfortunately, dirt is arguably the biggest causes of smoke detector beeping problems. Since dirt particles reflect light inside the photoelectric sensor just like smoke particles do, you will always get a false alarm. Therefore, if you notice that your smoke detector seems to be going off for no apparent reason, then you might want to hold on ripping the electrical wires in the system. Maybe all the gadget needs is a little bit of cleaning at no cost.
If these approaches don't solve the problem, the smoke detector might be in need of electrical repairs. Contact an electrician near you to learn more.
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