Chirping Smoke Detector

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At least the chirps did not start in the middle of the night! The smoke detector in the entrance hall beeped once last night, but I thought I had dragged my sneaker on the wooden floor. When it happened again this morning, I knew I had to find which one was complaining. Soon it beeped regularly, and I called on neighbor Jeff to change it. He rescued me last fall, then Lise’s friend Toke took care of the other five when they came to visit. There is no way that battery should have failed this quickly.

Jeff responded to my text and was here within minutes. He is such a smart fixer, coming prepared with a voltage meter. Checking the battery, he found it did not have enough charge to function properly. We both assumed my new battery was fine, but it chirped just as he stepped down to the floor. What?? He flipped it out, checked its voltage, and put it in again. This time it stayed blessedly quiet.

What do people do who don’t have wonderful neighbors to call on??? If I were 50 years younger and bought a house, I think I’d look for a course that would teach me how to do basic repairs myself. These days, perhaps there are videos to watch.

“Hush, Anne! You have no business climbing on a ladder. You’d do better falling over yourself thanking your rescuer.”

And Anne lived happily ever after, knowing she should call for help instead of trying to be independent.

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Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

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24 thoughts on “Chirping Smoke Detector”

  1. It’s good to have a neighbour who is able and willing help you when needed our smoke alarms are connected to the mains so only have a battery back up, someone comes and checks them twice a year.

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  4. I worry about this very thing. I doubt that any of our neighbors would be around or willing to help, so as long as we can climb a ladder we’re okay… but after that then what? Call a handy man service I suppose.

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  5. Jeff likely feels blessed to help you-especially because you are a wonderful, grateful person! My husband fixed countless things…completed tasks, etc., for our neighbors over the years. Since we’ve moved, they have still called for help on a few things and my husband is happy to go!💗 People usually enjoy helping.

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  8. I had the carbon monoxide detector debacle a few years ago when it went off late at night and I had damaged my finger in the garage door and could not pull the battery out. I took it outside as it was driving me crazy, but thought a passerby would come up near the house to investigate it, so I sent a text from my computer to Jeff to say “no worries, but maybe you can open it and remove the battery?” He could not, so drowned it in a pail of water. Yikes! I think when it turns nine years old, I will replace it to avoid that debacle again. You have good neighbors … Jeff was helpful THAT time. (Woo hoo, I can “like” again.)

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  10. Thanks God that time Chirping Smoke Detector.Your neighbours are help you-especially because you are a wonderful, grateful person.

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  12. You have great neighbors and friends, Anne! I have a friend who will help me with things like a chirping battery, but the last chirper I had didn’t have a replaceable battery! Thank goodness the landlord replaced the (fairly expensive) unit. Landlords are good, too. 🙂

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  13. Well said. I’m glad you have nice neighbors to call on for assistance. We have wonderful neighbors, too. My husband is a natural “fix it” person, but when he’s traveling or out, it’s great to know the neighbors would gladly assist. And I gladly assist them when needed and when it’s something I know about (plants/gardening/other). 🙂

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