Why is our smoke detector going off at night?

A smoke detector false alarm can be initiated by small dirt particles, smoke from cooking, placement to close to fluorescent lighting fixtures, and dust or temperature extremes. These may be present in garages, kitchens and attics. Fresh paint fumes can get heavy enough to cause a false alarm, so air out freshly painted rooms. Steam from bathrooms can also cause a false alarm.

I would first clean the battery compartment and sensor by vacuuming out any dust

Then replace the existing battery with a brand new freshly purchased battery

A replacement of the Detector maybe the better option also

Is this an older house with the smoke detector wired into the home? (Some older ones were actually powered off of the home power!) If so, it was probably illegal to sell the house with those ancient smoke detectors. You also may have wiring if you home has a security system. Otherwise, it is just battery powered. Just see if you can remove it. If there are no wires coming out of the wall or ceiling, it is just battery powered without security wiring.

Try changing the battery first, as Texperson suggested. If that doesn't work, buy a new smoke detector.

If you need a new one and there is no security wiring, it is not worth the time or trouble to call an electrician, especially if your home warranty has a deductible.

You can buy a good brand of smoke detector for $9 to $20 from places like Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart; buy a Kidde brand or a First Alert brand.

Also, an regular electrician will only be able to replace your smoke detector, which is a five minute job, he/she will not be able to repair it since they would required special certifications and test equipment to do so. By that time, you are in the hundreds of dollars price range for what you can do yourself for about $10.

It would only require two screws, at most, to install one of these.

Kidde Smoke Detector False Alarm

Most people don't realize it, but smoke detectors go bad and need to be replaced. The element that detects smoke is mildly radioactive, and will decay over time. A bad element will cause the detector to go off.

Most manufacturers recommend smoke detectors be replaced every 10 years or so. Even if an older detector appears to be working when you press the test button, it won't be as effective, or may not go off at all when it should.

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RE:

Why is our smoke detector going off at night?

Last night was the third time this week that our smoke detector went off, waking us up. We recently changed the batteries in all of the detectors in the house, but for some reason, the one in our master bedroom is now going off. Has anyone else had this problem before or does anyone know why...

If I were you I would just call my local fire department and ask. They are always happy to help and will usually even have someone come out and check it for you. I had a problem in the past with mine and they came and checked for me. Another thing you can do is call the maker of the smoke detector and talk to them and you can call the builder or who you bought your house from. If they are defective or can be fixed a lot of times they will come fix or replace. Just remember this is your safety we are talking about and that is a precious thing so MAKE THOSE CALLS!!! If you think it could possibly be carbon monoxide open you windows and door to let are circulate through home. Good luck!

this happened to me once. our smoke detecter is hooked up with our adt securty system and it did the same thing. so we had it checked and it was a dual carbon and smoke detector and we have a electrict stove and we dont use our gas line but it leaked and it was a carbon leak.. so theres prob a carbon leak or a hint of carbon in the air if ur detector is a dual if not theres prob someone smoking in the house or there some smoke in the air...

Try changing that battery once more. Maybe a connection is loose or the battery is defective. If that doesn't work you probably need a replacement.

It could be a bad battery.

My son, who does maintenance on military satelite equipment, told me to use a can of air, like is used on computer keyboards, to blow the dust out of the unit. It worked fine after that.

For some reason most people in America have them in their bedrooms. Here in Britain we only tend to use them on halls and landings, but that's still bad enough for noise.