Beep.
The single, 85-decibel high-pitched chirp started at 9:37pm. You know that chirp. A smoke detector in the house is running out of battery power.
But which one is it?
My wife had just let our dog, Sadie, outside for her final potty of the night. And then that first beep happened. Even though Sadie was in the backyard, she started freaking out.
You’ve got to know two things freak Sadie out:
- Thunderstorms, and
- Beeping fire alarms
She started shaking in fear. And breathing heavy. And she was still outside.
Beep.
So it was super-sleuthing time to figure out which alarm was the culprit. I knew it wasn’t the one at the bottom of the stairs because I was standing eye-level with it when the second chirp sounded.
My wife thought it might be the one in the hallway because that seemed to be where it came from when she was sitting on the couch.
I stood in front of the hallway alarm on the wall and waited for the next chirp.
Beep.
It wasn’t that one.
My wife brought Sadie inside and took her upstairs quickly before the next assault on her ears.
Next up was the alarm at the far end of the living room. Since the chirps happen one minute apart, I had time to grab the stepladder and get close to the one mounted on the ceiling.
Beep.
Not the one in the living room.
But the chirp came from the living room. Just at the other end of the living room.
The other end of the living room that doesn’t have a smoke detector on the ceiling. Odd.
Beep.
How can a smoke detector chirp when there’s not a smoke detector there?
Answer: when it’s not a smoke detector…it’s a carbon monoxide detector.
That was the culprit.
We have it mounted on the wall with a Command Strip behind a chair a few feet away from the gas fireplace.
So I undid the velcro and held it in my hand. And waited until another minute cycled.
Beep.
Time to pop open the battery compartment and remove the 9-volt battery before it can chirp again.
Success.
Fortunately, we had a replacement 9-volt. I put it in, closed the battery door, and waited for something to happen.
Silence.
Sadie could now sleep without the fear of another chirp freaking her out.
Now you might be thinking, “Why is Darren telling me this story?”
I’m telling you this story because as frustrating as a carbon monoxide detector is when it starts losing power, you need to have one.
Actually, you need one at every level of your house. And especially one in any room over your garage.
Why the garage? Because that’s where your vehicles are. And with this winter cold, you might warm your car up in the morning. Even with the garage door up, carbon monoxide can seep into your house.
Contrary to popular opinion, carbon monoxide RISES. It doesn’t fall. So above your garage is a must for a carbon monoxide detector.
The one we use is the First Alert CO400 Carbon Monoxide Detector. It’s battery powered instead of plugging into a wall outlet.
Remember how I said earlier that carbon monoxide rises?
Experts recommend having the detector 5 feet or more above the floor. And most wall outlets are about 2 feet off the floor.
So having the battery-powered version maximizes your family’s safety.
If you don’t have a piece of furniture to sit it on, use Command Strips to mount it. Works great for us.
Grab a First Alert Carbon Monoxide Detector for each level of your house (and a separate one for the room above your garage).
And finally, make sure to have a couple 9-volt batteries on hand for anything that goes beep in the night.
Be safe, Have fun,
Darren Bayne
