First of all, who develops the noise a smoke detector makes? Do scientists study the sounds that most make a human want to run out of the house at night? If so, they should bag the high-pitched beeping and make an alarm that sounds like a child throwing up. Try to sleep through that. Many a dad has pretended to, but we're on to you. So here is my PSA on smoke detector safety:
1. A smoke detector will still chirp even after you dismantle it and take out the battery.
I thought that was just a sitcom bit on Friends, but we lived that Phoebe moment last night. Try it if you don't believe me, but I suggest you choose an optimal time of day when you can give the situation proper attention.
2. Smoke detectors are much like newborns, they have no regard for time of night when they"
[checking them regularly in the light of day. You won't be able to sleep through it no matter how hard you try. But you will still try because the alternative is scrounging for a battery, and if you come up empty handed, you have to find the right drawer to muffle the sound of the chirp until the battery stores open in the morning.
[checking them regularly in the light of day. You won't be able to sleep through it no matter how hard you try. But you will still try because the alternative is scrounging for a battery, and if you come up empty handed, you have to find the right drawer to muffle the sound of the chirp until the battery stores open in the morning.
Thankfully, we found a new 9V battery and were able to silence the thing. I am also proud to report that I did not fall off the stool I managed to climb in the middle of the night with my eyes still mostly closed.
The reason we just happened to have a battery on hand? A few weeks ago we had a chirper outside one of the kid's rooms right at bedtime, and we had to make a special trip to the store to silence it. Good thing I bought a two pack!
3. The annoying mechanism that signifies the low battery is separate from the actual alarm. This we also learned at 3:30 this morning when my honey hit the test button to be sure the battery was in correctly. It emitted a sound only audible to small rodents. So later this morning (after strong coffee and daylight) I tested all 6 of our smoke detectors and discovered that 3 of them beep at the level of a digital watch alarm. So now I get to replace them and spend a bit more time balanced precariously on a stool installing the new ones. And if we wake up to another chirper tonight, it may just be time to pack up and move.
I think the worst part about them is the fact that they only beep once every 4 minutes while the battery is low (which is enough to keep you awake at night), but not often enough for you to be able to locate the chirper within the first 20 minutes of careful listening.
ReplyDeleteMy advice is keep 9V batteries on hand at all times.
PS- Did you know that the fire department will come change the batteries for you? My neighbor, who happens to be a fireman, told me this. It's part of their job :)
will the fire dept also come rewire the new ones? That would be oh so helpful!
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