Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

Are the alarms accessible in the sense that you can vaccum up dust, etc from
them ? I have read that dust and debris buildup can cause alarms to go
off.

I would also give them a "test", using a match (with the hot flame), and
then ten minutes later, test them again with smoke, to see if they go off.


If you are not absolutely sure, just replace them.

--James--

"tflfb" wrote in message
...
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a
home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

the match theory only works on heat detectors. Today's modern smokes are
usually ion or a combination of ion and heat. Take them apart blow them out
with compressed caned air. Clean with a q-tip and to not touch any of the
parts inside with your fingers. The oils on your hands will have you doing
this again in a few months. I clean mine yearly as well as testing them.

That happens to us occasionally - usually around 3AM :-(

For us, it seems to occur when it is very humid.

"tflfb" wrote in message
...
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a
home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into
a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the
house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

If I am not mistaken, it is now suggested they be replaced every ten years.

Are you sure they do not have a battery back-up? If they don't, it may be as
simple as blowing they dust out of them, making sure not to cause any damage
to them.

I had this problem, posted to the group, and was advised to blow the things
out with compressed air. I did this (ordinary air-compressor air, no fancy
canned air), and it cured the problem. Spider webs are often a problem,
apparently.


"Retiredff" wrote in message
ink.net...


tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into
a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the
house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

If I am not mistaken, it is now suggested they be replaced every ten
years.

Are you sure they do not have a battery back-up? If they don't, it may be
as
simple as blowing they dust out of them, making sure not to cause any
damage
to them.

tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom




Could be insects crawling into them. I've had that happen in our home. A
puff of insect spray around them fixes that problem.

Jeff
--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."

All smoke alarms should be replaced within 10 years of Installation.

Jeff Wisnia wrote in message ...
tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom




Could be insects crawling into them. I've had that happen in our home. A
puff of insect spray around them fixes that problem.

Jeff

I turned on my ceiling fan after a long period of inactivity and found that
the dust expelled from the fan blades activated the smoke detectors.
Seamus J. Wilson

"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...


tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a
home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the
house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom




Could be insects crawling into them. I've had that happen in our home. A
puff of insect spray around them fixes that problem.

Jeff
--

Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can smile when things are going wrong, you've thought of someone
to blame it on."

Our hard-wired smoke alarms are 14 year old. They get tested about
once a week when the SWMBO burns the dinner.

On 9 Apr 2004 07:02:54 -0700, (Gel) wrote:

All smoke alarms should be replaced within 10 years of Installation.

Jeff Wisnia wrote in message ...
tflfb wrote:
Is there a life expectancy for smoke alarms that are hard wired into a home.

Today the hard wired smoke alarms went off, nothing burning in the house.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom




Could be insects crawling into them. I've had that happen in our home. A
puff of insect spray around them fixes that problem.

Jeff