Are we having fun yet?
The CO monitor in the Lyme Lounge is beeping again but it seems to be quieter so I’m ignoring it. Today one of the FOUR (yes, really) Landfill smoke alarms within about a six foot diameter space started beeping: “hallway” and three adjacent bedrooms.
A number of years ago we were out of town and a tree fell on our house. Actually when our neighbors alerted us by email, we were sitting in Penny’s Kitchen in Sault Ste. Siberia with my mother, watching an April snowstorm dump a foot of snow or so. But that’s a whole ‘nother story.
As part of the process of repairing the tree damage, we were required to upgrade our smoke alarm system. I have NEVER been crazy about the new system. It is hard-wired, okay. But we also have to use batteries, okay. I don’t really understand how it all works but one of the problems is that with the alarms as close together as they are it can be difficult to tell which one is beeping unless you are standing directly underneath it. I GET the reasons for this but since we never close our interior doors, it seems like overkill in our particular situation.
So today one of them started beeping. At least it wasn’t 3AM. I figured out that it was the one in my bedroom. I grabbed the kitchen stool. The alarm is on the ceiling. There is NO WAY I could reach it with that stool. What should I do? I needed a ladder. What kind of ladders do we have and where are they. Bingo! I found a nice sturdy late-model ladder in the She-Shed.
I climbed up and got the battery out. A few minutes later? Beep beep beep. Oh dear. Except it wasn’t coming from that smoke alarm, it was coming from one of the GG’s lairs. I dragged the ladder into the lair and climbed up and removed THAT battery. Aaaannnnddd… You guessed it. A few minutes later the alarm in mouse’s old bedroom started beeping. I was about to drag the ladder into that room when. It. Stopped. KNOCK ON WOOD BIGTIME there has been no beeping all afternoon. They seem to communicate in some rudimentary way that I also do not understand.
Oh yeah, there was a little problem about batteries. I could not find 9-volt batteries in the Landfill to save my life. We may have some but if we do The Pensioner has squirreled them away somewhere. I used to always keep batteries in the kitchen. I ordered some from Amazon and I am going to keep my own stash from now on. He can do whatever squirreling he wants but I HAVE to be able to get my hands on batteries. In the meantime, Rodent Delivery Service brought me four 9-volts after work today. I feel guilty about asking her for stuff like that on short notice but then again, I have lent her the Ninja a couple times recently as they catch up on some automotive repairs so I guess I have actually been returning the favor a bit.
I have been lobbying for one of those Nest alarm systems for years. I’m not sure what all they do but I think you can use your phone to tell the alarm to shaddup if it runs out of battery at 3AM. Seems like a really bad thing for anyone who is normally asleep at that time to be up on a ladder. The Pensioner is not a Nest fan because $$$ and I’ve never argued even though I disagree (ya gotta pick yer battles). I think I will put it on my xmas list this year. He LOVES to spend money at xmas 🐽
August 23rd, 2020 at 8:56 pm
I hate my smoke alarms; it is a real PITA to replace the batteries, especially the one at the peak of the cathedral ceiling. I need to ask for help for that one since ladders are not my thing. I have the same issue figuring out which one it is, and they DO go off in the middle of the night, when it’s cold. They don’t like the cold. I replace them automatically every two years. This is the year. 🙁 My CO 2 detector started misbehaving a few years ago and new batteries wouldn’t stop it, so I got a different detector and that worked. Two years ago, I had replaced all the batteries when not even a week later, one of the alarms started chirping. I was beside myself with rage since it’s one of my most hated tasks. I will never buy Costco batteries again.