Do It Yourself Troubleshooting Tips For Smoke Alarms

We are aware why smoke alarms are installed in houses, office buildings, hospitals etc. Installing smoke alarms can save many lives and precious contents inside the property as well. It is of paramount importance that they are maintained well, since a dysfunctional smoke alarm can result in nuisance alarms and it can also put several lives at risk.

Points to Remember:

Smoke alarms should be kept distant from the sources of heat such as ovens and furnaces, shower, and air conditioning vents as well.

Batteries of your smoke alarms must be replaced at least once a year or whenever they start chirping. Smoke detectors must be cleaned on a regular basis. Dust build up can lead to false alarms.

Here are some of the DIY ways to maintain smoke alarms:

• If smoke alarms are chirping, it is an indication that battery is low and it needs to be replaced.
• If you do not like the message, kill the messenger’ should not be your approach while dealing with false alarms. If smoke detectors are ringing false alarms, you must never switch them off by unplugging. It can lead to serious damage during a fire situation. Smoke detectors ring false alarms when smoke alarms detect dust as smoke. Any dust build up around the sensor should be vacuumed.
• If smoke alarms are located pretty close to cooking areas or areas where cooking vapours or contaminants are common, there are chances that a greasy film has built up around the sensor which can lead to false alarms. You may have to replace the smoke detector to get rid of this problem.
• Power interruptions can be another problem with smoke detectors. If smoke detectors ring for a while and then stop ringing, it could be due to power interruptions, so you may have to fix connections to restore the power supply.
• If you have already tried basic troubleshooting steps and still unable to fix false alarms, you must replace the unit.

Smoke alarm is a vital fire safety equipment that plays a key role in fire fighting. It is always better to be safe than sorry, so it is a good idea to have a well maintained fire protection equipment as well.