Teach You How to Prevent False Alarms from Hand-Crank Smoke Alarms

Firstly, we must understand the reasons behind the false alarms of the smoke hand-held alarm, listed in order as follows: 1. Cooking; 2. Influence of steam or moisture; 3. Smoke from cigarettes; 4. Power supply; 5. Dust.

Phenomenon One: Many false alarms regarding cooking smoke are triggered by ionization detectors. These sensors are highly sensitive to extremely small smoke particles, even those invisible to the naked eye. Cooking smoke particles generated by high temperatures are also invisible to the human eye.

There are two fundamental solutions:

One, the placement of the smoke alarm. Installing the alarm further away from the cooking area can dilute the smoke produced by cooking by the time it reaches the alarm, thereby reducing false alarms. However, this method is not always effective, especially when air flow carries the cooking smoke to the alarm, which can also trigger false alarms. Therefore, when relocating the smoke alarm, it is crucial to first determine the direction of the air flow.

Two: Replace the alarm

1. Purchased a new ion smoke alarm with a silent button. Pressing the button stops the alarm for 15 minutes, giving ample time for cooking smoke to dissipate. 2. Chose to buy a photoelectric smoke sensor alarm. Photoelectric alarms are not very sensitive to tiny smoke particles, so they won't false alarm due to cooking smoke particles.

Phenomenon Two: Steam or moisture can condense on sensors and circuit boards. If too much water vapor accumulates, it will trigger an alarm sound.

Solution: Install the alarm device in a location farther away from steam and moisture, such as the corridor of a bathroom, as placing an alarm there would not resolve the issue. However, if the alarm was functioning properly but now reacts to steam or moisture, the problem might be due to the aging of the alarm. Older alarms become more sensitive and prone to responding to steam and moisture. Therefore, false alarms may also occur when the alarm has exceeded its service life and needs to be replaced.

In most cases, smoke sensors will not react to the smoke from cigarettes unless the smoke is extremely dense, such as when multiple smokers are in the same room, which can trigger an alarm. If the alarm is too old, it may react even to low smoke concentrations. Therefore, we can also use this to determine if the alarm has aged.

Phenomenon Four: Batteries will emit a chirping sound approximately every minute when nearly depleted (variations in intervals and sounds may occur between different models, but all have a low battery warning feature), and some may consider it a false alarm.

But this sound is easily distinguishable, as it emits a single, sharp noise and does so approximately every minute. If your alarm intermittently produces this sound, you can try replacing the battery to see if it resolves the issue.

If the alarm keeps emitting alarm sounds, it might be due to excessive dust accumulation inside. Consider replacing the alarm or cleaning it. When cleaning the alarm, use the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner to gently vacuum around the openings of the alarm one by one. This will thoroughly remove the dust accumulated inside the alarm.