Ever wonder why your smoke alarms seem so...useless?

Ever wonder why your smoke alarms seem so...useless? 

They’re not actually useless. They’re just outdated. Most run on technology from 1973 and, like other 50+ year old technologies, they aren't perfect. 

Here’s 3 things you can do to make them work better for you: 

𝟭. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘀, 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 

Smoke alarms look for particles, but most can’t tell one particle from another. Dust, pollen, cooking byproducts, and steam all look the same as smoke to them. Reducing their exposure to these particles cuts down on false alarms. 

𝟮. 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝘁. 

Over time, dust accumulates inside the sensing chamber. To most alarms, dust looks like smoke (see above), so, to prevent false alarms, get rid of it by gently blowing the alarm out with compressed air. 

𝟯. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿. 

Smoke alarms emit light inside their chambers to “see” smoke particles. But as batteries drain or power connections loosen, their lights get dimmer and dimmer. They assume that it’s getting darker because it’s getting smokier, and respond accordingly. 

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There’s new technology for smoke alarms coming. We are working on building it! For now, however, hopefully these fixes help fellow false alarm sufferers. 

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Filed under: Smoke Alarms

Pictured: Things from 1973: The Xerox Alto, Richard Nixon, KISS, and the smoke alarm.