Understand Why Your Smoke Alarm Is Chirping

Woman on ladder testing smoke detector on ceiling
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The fire department comes along and installs a new smoke alarm in the hallway—or maybe it's a carbon monoxide alarm. Either way, the thing starts chirping a few months later. What's up?

The Smoke Alarm Is Chirping


It's important not to ignore the chirping; that's why it's so annoying. If you ignore it long enough, it will stop because the battery is dead and you're no longer protected.

So when the chirping starts, pick up a battery at the store and swap it out. If you're not sure how to do it, contact the manufacturer, ask the guy at the hardware store or call the non-emergency line at the fire department for advice.

Do not call 911 because your battery is low.

When to Call 911

When a smoke alarm starts beeping, you can usually see the smoke that's causing it. If you see smoke, call 911 and get the heck out of there, fast, whether the alarm beeps or not. If you know it was just the steam from the shower that caused the alarm to sound, you can usually address it yourself (fanning the steam away from the alarm usually makes it stop). As long as you know it was just your shower or the fact that you burnt the toast, you're okay. If you don't know why the alarm is beeping continuously, get out and call 911.

Carbon monoxide alarms are a little different than smoke alarms. When a carbon monoxide alarm starts beeping, there's nothing to see. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and deadly.

It's important to call 911 for a beeping carbon monoxide alarm, just not a chirping one. If either kind of alarm starts beeping continuously, it's time to get out of the house.

What to Do When


To avoid this problem entirely, change your alarm batteries twice a year. The fire service recommends you change batteries when you change your clocks. Keeping fresh batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms promote peace of mind, not to mention avoiding that annoying chirping sound.﻿﻿

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Article Sources
  1. Consumer Product Safety Council. It’s time. check and change your smoke and carbon monoxide alarm batteries. Updated October 29, 2019.