(I have carbon monoxide detectors that are not going off)
I have smoke detectors that are incorporated into my home alarm system. The other day, the one by my front door went off for no apparent reason, twice, and when I changed the batteries, it started alarming again immediately.
there was absolutely no reason for it, there were no open windows or doors nearby, it just went off. so, my alarm company replaced it. installed the new smoke detector yesterday and… it just went off again. completely different smoke detector.
there’s absolutely nothing in my house that could produce carbon monoxide, but I have separate CO detectors anyway that aren’t going off. there’s no smell, there’s nothing visible, and these are those electro optical photoelectric style ones.
Call the fire department, they have detectors that they can use to look for gas leaks and other things that can set off a detector.
You can also call your gas provider. One of those two should be able to track it down, it could be a lot of things, but two different smoke detectors going off in the same location is a huge red flag.
Best case, you have something kicking up fine dust, worst case, you have a smouldering electric fire in your wall somewhere.
Don’t panic, but also do not ignore this.
The weird thing is, it alarmed three times in its current position, but when I changed the battery, it started alarming in my hands in a completely different room, which I already had two other smoke detectors in it that weren’t going off.
and there’s no gas. I live outside Miami
This makes it sound like it’s probably just a defective detector. Swap it with one that hasn’t been going off and see if that one starts going off too. If it doesn’t then odds are something just failed in it.
You could also just try blowing some air through it to blow out any dust. But it shouldn’t be that dusty after only a year so I’m still leaning towards defective.
Sounds like a bad unit, try replacing it. The fact it’s going off elsewhere and no other detectors go off says it’s the unit.I missed that you changed units, check your wires.
If the new unit starts going off, you may have a switched wire between your signal (red) and your hot (black) that fried the unit.
it’s not hardwired, my security system is entirely wireless
Then some signal from the base unit alerts all units that one detector has gone off, to alarm the home. Either the base unit is sending a false signal, or some outside signal is mimicking the signal.
Personally I’d install a standalone detector in that spot.
I’m slowly concluding this might have something to do with my Ring Doorbell and a new Chime I’ve added to that system, or cobwebs. I’ve thoroughly dusted this corner of the wall and ceiling now, and the chime stopped working anyway so
Look for an expiration date. Radionucleotide style detectors end up failing with false positives when they reach end of life. You might need to have all the old ones replaced.I used the wrong word, but this is a photoelectric detector. The manufacturer date is less than one year ago
Sorry, I must have skimmed too quickly and missed that.
High humidity can cause them to go off as well. Used to use a cool air humidifier in our kids’ room at night and had to stop because it would eventually set the alarm off.
I found it amusing that these posts were adjacent.
I’d call the fire department to ask them to come out and make sure that there’s not anything slow burning that’s hidden in the walls. Be sure to mention two separate smoke detectors have been going off. Even if that’s not what it is they’ll be fine with coming out to check.
Did you open one up yet? That might give you a clue 🤔
E.g. I don’t know exactly how wide the gaps are, but here it looks like small insects could get in. Maybe you have another problem than smoke 🫣
a spider could absolutely crawl through the grading over the detector portion. these are under warranty from my security company, so I’ve held off on disassembling one but I will eventually
Does it get hot by your front door or in direct sunlight? We have a few in my house that go off if our kitchen gets too hot. We had to move them down the hall slightly and they stopped. A really old one we have upstairs, hardwired into the house electric (built in 86) trips if too much steam builds up in the bathroom and let’s loose into the hall.
it doesn’t, my house is outside Miami so it’s well designed to prevent direct sunlight from any of the windows.
Spiderwebs or insects can mess with the sensors, likewise with dust. Try spraying some canned air inside. Or if it’s a few years old, you may want to replace it.
Firefighter here. Brush and gently vacuum your smoke detector. Insects are attracted to the LED and can set off the alarm. They may be very small. Dust can also set it off.
now there’s an idea. I live in south Florida and my house was built in the 1950s. I wonder if some spider has decided that the inside of this detector is a good place to hide. blowing it out isn’t going to help though, because I replaced the entire detector and if there’s a spider going in there, they just went back into the new one immediately. I’m going to have to set up a security camera on this thing
I used to live in Miami and I had a detector do that. Maybe it’s pollen? There’s a shit ton of weird-ass pollen in Miami.
The instructions for my smoke detector recommend spraying the openings with compressed air regularly.
A ghost 👻
Had to scroll way too long to find the right answer.
I wish he’d come over and tickle my balls instead of tickling my smoke detector
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Depends on what kind of detector it is but alot of them use small amounts of radiation and a detector that triggers when the number of particles detected drops below some level.
That being the case any particulate large enough to interrupt the particles could cause it to go off.
For example high humidity misty water from a shower wafting over a detector placed over the bathroom door, etc.
Dust maybe? Dust can have the same particles as smoke.
I second the dust. Dust can collect on the sensor and trigger the alarm. You can try vacuuming or using a compressed air cleaner, or just replace.
this is a brand new smoke detector. it’s all up in the original post
That itself could be its own reason. Manufacturing isn’t 100% perfect.
update - so I’ve got two more diagnostic steps. I have another detector of the exact same brand in another room, I’m going to switch them and see what happens. if the detector from my kitchen starts going off by the front door, then I’m going to try another brand that I have elsewhere in the house and move forward from there.
It could also be an issue with the wiring if they are interconnected
they’re connected to the base station wirelessly is all
I think you said elsewhere that they are new and that they are photoelectric rather than the radioactive ones.
I’m purely taking a shot in the dark but I’m wondering if you should try sealing up the hole(s) in the wall that you made to run electric and to mount the detector
My thinking is that dust might be getting caught up in a tiny draft through that hole and it’s so close to the source that it sets it off. Cause like, if wind hits the side of the house, there can be some positive pressure in the crawlspace which often also means inside the walls.
I guess maybe somehow there could be some stream or condensation as well. If it’s right by the front door and the humidity is high, maybe the hot air from outside meets the AC air and causes a tiny amount of condensation. Or if you live in hellscape temperatures, maybe there could be some vapor generated because of the hot air.
omg 😭😭😭 The new detector went on off in the living room where the old one did. switched it to the kitchen, put the kitchen detector in the living room, and the new one went off in the kitchen. wtffff
Sorry, trying to follow here. Three locations: front door, kitchen and living room. 4 detectors: original front door, new front door, kitchen and living room?
Original front door went off in situ and in the living room while holding it?
New front door went off at front door. Swapped NFD with living room - NFD went off in living room.
Moved NFD to kitchen and it went off in there too?
Where are the K and LV detectors now? Have any of those gone off anywhere in the house? Are THEY functional? (Sorry if you already said, I’m trying to piece the bits together and mighta missed that)
three detectors. front and living room are the same place. but I’m getting one more replacement to check
