Very Alarming

Almost exactly one year ago, we blogged about some fancy smoke detectors that we had installed when one of our three old ones died and we realized how old they all actually were. We spent a lot of time researching the difference between the various sensors, batteries, etc.

Well one thing we have since learned - don't bother getting a 10-year battery because it will start spontaneously going off in under a year.

Our Home Depot alarm that is on our main floor, arguably our most important smoke detector, kept going off uncontrollably and with absolutely no cause. It quieted down when we took it outside. The problem was that with an unremovable battery, there was no way to keep it quiet. After leaving it outside for a few days to "reset" (or so we thought) and then leaving it sitting up high on a shelf for a few days to see how it would react, it managed to stay quiet. We thought we were safe. And so we put it back up where it belonged.

Only to come home two days later to it going off (all day apparently - more on that later). I couldn't get it to stop beeping, even by holding down the reset. I finally tossed it outside until I could calm down my poor scared toddler.

When it finally stopped and D tried to bring it back in, it immediately began its shrill alarm just by him picking it up. He finally had to fully turn it off (which breaks it in the process) and out it went.

I ordered a basic $7 one that requires a 9V battery. It's not fancy but it's definitely better than having nothing installed on our main floor at all. I wonder if we got a dud or all the "10-year" ones die so quickly.