We have the secret to stopping that pesky beeping smoke alarm.

A tripped circuit breaker will often cause a 110-volt hardwired smoke detector to start beeping. It will continue to beep, running on its backup battery, until AC power is restored. If you suspect this is the problem, check all the breakers in the panel box. If you find one tripped, reset it. The test sequence lasts for approximately 3-10 seconds. 3 Beeps, 2 second pause, 3 Beeps Flashes On once per second Stays On Originating smoke alarm - the alarm has sensed smoke. 3 Beeps, 2 second pause, 3 Beeps Does not Flash On once per second Stays On Non-originating smoke alarm - an interconnected smoke alarm has sensed smoke.

We’ve all been there. It’s 2 a.m. and you hear a beeping noise. Your first reaction is to cover your head with a pillow and pretend you didn’t hear it. Eventually the chirping sound takes permanent residence in your brain, and you have no choice but to get up and deal with it.

While we may all relate to Phoebe’s approach, there is a better way.

Usi Electric Smoke Alarm

So how do we reset that pesky alarm and stop that annoying chirp?

An article featured on Consumer Reports walks us through step-by-step.

1. Make sure there isn’t a real actual fire.
2. Find the device that’s going off and reset it by pressing and holding the reset button.
3. If that doesn’t work, take the smoke alarm off the ceiling. If you can, remove the batteries. And, I’m not sure if they are for real with this next piece of advice, but who am I to judge:

If your smoke alarm has a lithium battery you can’t take out, muffle it in a blanket, under a sofa cushion, or in your freezer until it stops.

Usi Electric Smoke Detector Keeps Beeping

4. If your smoke alarm happens to be hard-wired there are a few additional steps you’ll need to try.

First, try the reset button on each smoke alarm. If that doesn’t work, flipping the circuit breaker off and back on might stop the noise. If all of that fails, your ultimate solution may be to disconnect the smoke alarms and remove their batteries one by one. A small connector at the back of each alarm can be unclipped to let you safely remove it from the network.

When it’s all said and done, it may be time for new smoke alarms. Make sure to check that each one is functioning properly after you stop the beeping.

Check out the handy video below for more tips:

Photo by sun dazed

Usi Electric Smoke Detector 1204 Beeping