It happens to everyone, eventually. You are sleeping soundly only to be awakened in the middle of the night with an intermittent beep sound that will not stop. For most, it is just a little chirp every three or four minutes; for some, it could be a panicky smoke detector sounding the alarm at full blast.

Your smoke detector is trying to tell you something, most of the time, it is telling you to change the batteries. But what if it continues to beep even after the batteries have been changed?

Smoke detectors, for the most part, are pretty simple pieces of machinery. Even though the chirping or full-on beeping is annoying, it can be solved pretty quickly.

Here are a few things to try to quiet your smoke detector:

Change the batteries first- Even though most smoke detectors are wired into the circuits of our homes, they still have batteries that need to be changed. If the batteries are low, it will chirp to let you know. After changing the batteries, make sure the inside of the casing is free of dust, rust, or small debris.

Reset the alarm- If the beeping continues even after you have added new batteries, it may need a reset. Look for a reset button on the bottom, unplug and dismount the alarm, then hold the reset button down for a full 20 seconds. This should do the trick.

Give it a good cleaning- If it continues to make noise even after you tried the rest button, you made need to clean it out. This doesn't mean taking it apart. The best way to clean it out is to spray it thoroughly with a can of compressed air. The components are pretty sensitive and may not work correctly if hindered by dust.

If you tried all of this and none of it worked, it is probably time to call an electrician like John's Electric. We can repair or replace your smoke detectors and make sure all of them in your home are in working order. Contact our office today.