SEM Security Systems
a division of Southeast Mobility
Inc
Your smoke detectors have gone off and now it keeps
going off repeatedly even though you've silenced it. If you
know what set off the smoke detector, probably the
husbands cooking, then continue reading and reset it but if
you're not sure what caused the alarm, then you need to
find the offending detector before resetting it. Some
systems will separate the smoke detectors onto individual
zones, if this is the case then the smoke detector that
caused the alarm will probably be indicated on your
keypad. If the individual smoke detector is not indicated on
the keypad then go through all areas of the home and
visually inspect the smoke detectors. Each smoke detector
will have an LED on it. The one that caused the alarm will
be blinking red. Now, reset your smoke detectors by
pressing *72 (star then seven then two), after you get the
noise stopped come back here and read the rest of this
page for some very important information.
If there is still smoke in the home, then you can expect the
alarm to sound again even though you've reset the smoke
detectors. All smoke must be cleared to get the alarms to
stop repeatedly going off.
What caused your smokes to sound? It's very important
that you know the source of the issue. If it was someone
burning the bacon, that's no big deal. If it just went into
alarm for no apparent reason, then that issue should be
addressed immediately.
First, check your whole home for sources of smoke. This
includes the basement, crawl space, and attic. Smoke
detectors are very sensitive and a very small amount of
smoke will activate them. A wire could be getting hot. Of
course now while you're looking for the problem, the air
conditioner, water heater, or other appliance that is creating
the high amp draw has turned off, the wire has cooled back
down and no smoke can be found. We once had a smoke
detector set off by a belt slipping on a washing machine.
Sometimes these sources can be hard to locate. You
should also note that bug bombs can, and often do, set off
your smoke detectors. If you are going to bug bomb your
home then it is important that you contact us to put your
system on test while this is being done.
Another frequent issue is dust collecting inside the smoke
detectors. You should clean your smoke detectors
periodically but if you haven't cleaned them lately and you
have no other explanation for the alarm sounding, you
should clean them now. Don't just clean the one that
caused the alarm, take the time to clean all of them.
You're going to need a stable ladder or step stool and a
can of compressed air. You can find them both at your local
Wal-Mart or similar store. The ladder or step stool should
be just tall enough to allow you reach your ceiling mounted
smoke detectors comfortably. You'll find the compressed air
in the computer department. It is generally used to blow the
dust out of computer key boards and such.
Now cleaning the smoke is as simple as blowing the dust
out of it with the can of compressed air. If, after cleaning
your smoke detectors, you have a repeated apparent false
alarm then you need to contact us to schedule a service
call. Hopefully the problem is a faulty component on the
alarm system rather than an intermediate source of smoke.