(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.
Are they networked? Mine are somehow connected and the one that beeps doesn’t always seem to be the one that detected the issue.
they are networked, wirelessly, but one won’t set another off. they will set the base station off, as if my burglar alarm has been tripped. also, my system will tell me exactly which smoke detector went off
Are they Kidde? I’ve had 3 photoelectric Kiddes that started failing and going off randomly. I’ve been slowly replacing all of mine.
The builder installed them. Occasionally walking through our neighbourhood we hear other people’s going off too.
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Some newer (in the last 10 years) smoke detectors use an infrared sensor to detect fire as well as smoke, and it may be going haywire off a reflection of the sun, or intense heating of a spot within its detection area.
If you can, borrow a FLIR or infrared camera and check the area when the detector goes off.
If you post your model of smoke detector, it would be easier to tell if it has this feature.
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.
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.
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’ve set one off while dying my hair.
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
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.
Anecdotally, when I was a kid, we had an electrical issue wherein a short or something was causing wires to slowly melt through their jacket, inside the wall. It was triggering smoke detectors, but we couldn’t see or smell anything. Fire department came out and found it, but if we’d ignored it, it almost definitely would have been a huge house fire eventually. Definitely second this advice. It doesn’t cost anything to have them come look.
In my first apartment, I had a smoke detector that was mains powered. The wire metals weren’t compatible and eventually the wirenuts burned and cut off power to half the room. The smoke detector’s wires were all burnt up. It never alarmed unfortunately so I only learned about it when half the room just went dark. That could absolutely have turned into an electrical fire.
Definitely worth getting it checked.
Have you ruled out other types of fumes? Eg fresh paint, perfume, scented oil diffusers etc.
yeah I’m autistic so i can smell that shit a mile away
Does anyone in your house vape?
Vapes don’t trigger traditional alarms
My partner’s vape triggers ours https://www.kidde.com/home-safety/en/us/products/fire-safety/combination-smoke-co-alarms/KN-COSM-IBA/
I resolved it by installing an air purifier in the bedroom where she vapes. But agreed, her vape isn’t invisible (though I think some e-liquids are) and OP didn’t mention so it’s low probability in this case.
They will trigger a laser alarm though. Depends what type of fire alarm you have. I have a laser alarm in my house and if I open the bathroom door too quick after a shower the steam can even trigger it.
They also don’t produce invisible results
I have set off smoke detectors with a power washer and with saw dust
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.
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.
The instructions for my smoke detector recommend spraying the openings with compressed air regularly.
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.
