# Smoke Detector Issue



## djlandkpl (Jan 29, 2013)

Some detectors chirp when they need to be replaced. How old is it? There should be a date stamp on the back of the detector.


----------



## timbotyson (Jul 8, 2020)

You mean they chirp just because they are old, even if the battery is good? I never heard of this. Anyway, it is an older detector. But it doesn't chirp until the alarm goes off and I silence it. Otherwise, once I take the battery out and put it back in, the chirping stops. And I know the alarm still works because if I make dark toast it goes off.


----------



## timbotyson (Jul 8, 2020)

I just read online that some detectors will chirp for up to 15 minutes after an alarm is silenced, this could very well be my "issue", since I did not wait that long before putting the battery back in. I will set it off and then wait 15 minutes to see if the chirping stops.


----------



## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

If it is more than 10 years old, replace it.


----------



## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

The alarm usually states the age and useful life on the back in the fine print.

They are cheap - if this one has bothered you twice, throw it out.

I once had a client contact me about a smoke alarm chirping. Well, you know how the chirp is nearly impossible to locate due to the frequency. I changed the batteries (the detectors were all relatively new) on six alarms and STILL there was a chirp - drove me nuts. I ended up getting lucky and found detector #7 in the basement behind some paint cans. Apparently the owner replaced some alarms months earlier and did not remove the old batteries on the "retired" unit...


----------



## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

It seems like they could develop more user-friendly alarms. If it goes off in the middle of the night, you need to have memorized what the different chirps mean & not be half-asleep.


----------



## user_12345a (Nov 23, 2014)

Try vacuuming it or blowing out with compressed gas "air duster" if you have.


----------

