Lititz, PA · Member since 2013 · 595 posts · 272 votes
Hello,
We are having too many false alarms with alarms that are less than 2 years old and are supposed to last for 10 years. It often occurs in the middle of the night. It is not tenant abuse either. We clean them with compressed air and it is not a dusty environment. There seems to be a quality problem with the two major alarm compnaies (Kidde and First Alert). Kidde has acknowledged this as they are not producing a line of alarms that had multiple problems. Note: these are 10 year sealed battery units (not hardwired)
This may not seem like a serious problem but it is for the following reasons:
1. When a CO alarm false alarms in the middle of the night the recommended procedure is to evacuate and call 911. This is a major disruption to people sleep and lives.
2. Sometimes people will disable a nuisance alarm and this creates an unsafe condition
3. The cost and time to service a faulty alarm is too much.
Questions:
1. Are there better quality alarms out there?
2. Any advice on how to instruct tenants to deal with a nuisance alarm in the middle of the night?
Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1y
I use units from each of those companies, and I've had one premature failure in the last 11 years (n=20 or so). It was replaced for free as it was prior to the 10 year lifespan.
However, I have had multiple false alarms due to environmental conditions. Namely, excess heat and humidity. This has happened several times over the years. The local fire department has shared with me that this is indeed "a thing." Since the units are using a photoelectric eye, condensation caused by warm air can create a false alarm. I even had one trigger just from heat (not humidity) in a vacant second floor unit in the middle of the summer.
My solution has been to ensure those conditions are not created in these spaces, whether than means opening a window in the basement and using a box fan in the summer, or cracking open leeward windows on the second floor (in a manner to prevent water intrusion during heavy rain) on opposite ends of the building to create a bit of airflow in the summer.
Lastly, I'll throw this out there in the category of "trust, but verify" - are you absolutely sure this is not tenant caused? I routinely have alarms triggered by inept cooking or (more commonly) indoor smoking. Relocating a unit a bit away from the stove (but in compliance with fire code) may help.
Regardless, I think it is very unlikely that your issues are caused by equipment malfunction as you have used two different companies. You can always try yet another brand, but I am willing to bet your solution is elsewhere, above.