[mistyinca]

Originally Posted by Suzy

So DH and I are peacefully sleeping tonight, and out of nowhere the smoke detectors start going off! There is NOTHING like being woken up by that piercing sound! ALL of the smoke detectors in the whole house are all going off at the same time-so there's nowhere to get away from the noise! Milli was standing on the arm of the couch, barking at the one in the family room, while Emma was hiding under the bed, poking her head out, with a worried look on her face. Poor furbabies!!!

This actually happened on Wednesday morning-out of the blue while we were getting ready, all of them went off! I checked everywhere, but there was no smoke or anything out of the ordinary. I didn't know what to do, and they wouldn't stop, so I called the Fire Dept (non-emergency), and they said to take the batteries out of each one, and they'd send a crew in the meantime. So, we scramble around, and get all the batteries out, and it stops. But, of course, they send a whole bright red rig, 4 guys, the whole thing-they were really nice about it when they got here-even took off their boots at the door!-and they told us when one of the batteries dies, since all the fire alarms are wired together, they ALL beep until one is replaced. We bought new batteries that night, but didn't put them in right away.

Fast forward to tonight, so I figure, ok, let's put all the new batteries IN, and they'll stop. Nothing like halling out a step-ladder to reach the vaulted ceilings at 2 am! So DH puts in the new batteries, and they won't stop beeping! Milli's going crazy barking, and Emma's hiding behind me, scared, wondering what the heck is going on! So I get the idea to hit the circuit breaker-but of course, that doesn't work either, because now they're all running on battery backup. So DH goes and takes all the new batteries back OUT, I hit the breaker, and finally, silence!

Except my ears are ringing, and I can't sleep now!

I'm going to have them all replaced next week, and have the wiring checked and redone if necessary! Sorry, just needed to vent, maybe I can sleep now?

Here's what you need to do. Get out a hose vacuum and vacuum all around all the vents and openings on the smoke detectors. This should fix the problem. Ask me how I know! LOL BTDT!

We had a similar problem. Whenever the winds blow, somehow dust particles get on the sensors and will cause false alarms. We, too, replaced all the batteries only to have them go off again! I called the fire department, and they told me to do this to all the detectors in the house. It was also listed on the mfr's website for the smoke detectors. Good luck!