How to avoid set off smoke detectors

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around strategies to prevent smoke detectors from being triggered while cooking in an apartment setting. Participants share their experiences and concerns regarding smoke detectors, particularly in relation to cooking methods and the potential for fines if alarms are activated.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about smoke detectors in their new apartment, particularly in the kitchen, and seeks advice on how to avoid triggering them while cooking.
  • Some participants suggest cooking on lower heat to minimize smoke production.
  • There are conflicting views on whether smoke detectors have a reset button, with some asserting that they do while others claim they only have a test button.
  • A few participants share personal methods for silencing alarms, including waving a towel to disperse smoke and removing batteries, though there are warnings that this may not work for wired models.
  • One participant mentions that smoke detectors in public buildings may not be resettable, which could lead to fines for misuse.
  • There are discussions about the types of sensors used in kitchen smoke detectors, with some suggesting they may be heat-based rather than smoke-based.
  • Several participants emphasize that cooking should not produce excessive smoke if done correctly, and some challenge the idea that higher heat leads to faster cooking.
  • Humorous comments about unconventional methods to silence alarms, such as using a shotgun, are also present.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether smoke detectors have reset buttons or the best methods to prevent them from being triggered. Multiple competing views and personal experiences are shared, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the variability in smoke detector models and their features, which may depend on the age of the building and the specific technology used. There are also references to the potential consequences of triggering alarms in public buildings.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals living in apartments with smoke detectors, particularly those who cook frequently and are concerned about triggering alarms, may find this discussion relevant.

AllenHe
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
Hey guys, I have just moved into a new place for my university studies. There are smoke detectors in the apartment(kitchen living room and bedroom), I never had those things in apartments that I use to live. I am quite worried about the one in the kitchen, because I heard that while cooking a lot of smoke is released. There is a fan over the stove, but I don't know whether it can completely absorb the smoke that is produced.

Oh, and if the smoke detector is set off, is there anyway that I can stop it making the sound. Because if I can't make it stop in 60s I will have to pay a very heavy fine. :(

So if you got any tips or experience please tell me. :D:D

Thanks.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
There is a reset button on the smoke detector, when it goes off, you simply press this button to stop it. I keep a broom handy for this.

I suggest that you cook on lower heat to avoid smoke.
 
There isn't any button on the smoke detector, otherwise I won't be worried about the set off. :D

I'll try to cook at a lower heat, just hope that it won't take much longer. xx
 
AllenHe said:
There isn't any button on the smoke detector, otherwise I won't be worried about the set off. :D
There has to be a way to reset it. Sometimes they are hard to find.
 
When I'm searing burgers or steaks on my cast iron skillet I make sure to have adequate ventilation, even going so far as to open the door to my apt. The few times I've set my smoke detector off I have had luck just waving a towel around it to clear the air. I've pulled out the battery one time, but make sure you put it all back together once the area is vented thoroughly if you go that route.
 
Yanick said:
When I'm searing burgers or steaks on my cast iron skillet I make sure to have adequate ventilation, even going so far as to open the door to my apt. The few times I've set my smoke detector off I have had luck just waving a towel around it to clear the air. I've pulled out the battery one time, but make sure you put it all back together once the area is vented thoroughly if you go that route.
If the alarm is wired into the electric system , pulling the battery won't turn it off.
 
Never hurts to get a refresher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNxkkVEArm8
 
Evo said:
There is a reset button on the smoke detector, when it goes off, you simply press this button to stop it. I keep a broom handy for this.
Really?!? I thought that was just a test button?!? I may need to light something on fire tonight to see if that is really what it is.

I use two methods to silence the alarm:

Method one:
1. Get a hand towel.
2. Grasp it by a short edge, with one hand in each corner.
3. Flap it vertically, under the smoke detector.

Method two:
1. Remove battery.
 
dlgoff said:
Never hurts to get a refresher.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNxkkVEArm8

Thanks for that. A few comments:

1. I don't think mine have a "hush" button, just a "test" button, but I'll check.
2. I don't know which sensor technology mine are, but I'll check.
3. My house is 9 years old and has the original detectors. I'll check the life expectancy.
4. Mine are dual-power. I've decided on replacing all batteries at once since I have a lot of smoke detectors in my house. So if a battery dies and I get an every 5 minute beep (always happens at exactly 2:00am), I replace all of them.
5. Get a CO detector too.
 
  • #10
russ_watters said:
1. I don't think mine have a "hush" button, just a "test" button, but I'll check.
On all the smoke detectors I've had, the test button is also the hush button. In fact, I've never seen any with a separate hush button. (But that's only based on four different brands.)
 
  • #11
If you get billowing smoke when you cook, you're probably doing it wrong anyway. After all, you want to be able to eat the food after it is cooked, not gnaw and crunch your way thru a bunch of charred debris.
 
  • #12
You can't reset smoke detectors in a public building. In halls of residence for example. It goes straight through to a switchboard that's sets all the fire alarms off in the building and calls the fire brigade.

Hence the fine for misuse.


The sensors used in kitchens are generally not based on smoke, or it would go off when someone burns their toast. I think they are based on a heat pattern, but I am not sure.

Thr bottom line is, cooking normally will not set off the alarm in the kitchen.
 
  • #13
AllenHe said:
I'll try to cook at a lower heat, just hope that it won't take much longer. xx

Cooking doesn't work like that. Applying more heat doesn't make it cook faster. It usually burns the outside and leaves in the inside undercooked.

A clean pan and stove should not smoke no matter how hot you try to get it., There are only very few cooking techniques that require mega hot fat.
 
  • #14
My usual method of shutting up a fire alarm is to fan it vigorously and open a few windows. Just make sure there's lots of ventilation and nothing is burning and you'll be fine.
 
  • #15
I guess you can shut it off with a shotgun, I am just not sure if it will not set some other alarm on.

Why don't you ask the landlord?
 
  • #16
russ_watters said:
Really?!? I thought that was just a test button?!? I may need to light something on fire tonight to see if that is really what it is.

I use two methods to silence the alarm:

Method one:
1. Get a hand towel.
2. Grasp it by a short edge, with one hand in each corner.
3. Flap it vertically, under the smoke detector.

Method two:
1. Remove battery.
All of the smoke detectors I've had can simply be stopped by pushing the test/reset/hush button (never heard it called a hush button before). But as xxxchrisxxx mentioned in a public building, they may not have that ability.

For models that are wired into the home's electric system, the battery works as a backup should the electricity go off, so removing the battery will not shut it off since it is running on the home's electrical supply. My current alarms are this type, they work without the battery, I know because I have one right now that hasn't had the battery in it for over a year, I keep forgetting, I've left the little battery door hanging open to remind me there is no battery in it. It does work, I've burned a few things. :redface:
 
  • #17
Mine was going off every time I cook anything. I just took it off the wall and put it under my bed. I think it's still there. Been a couple of years.
 
  • #18
leroyjenkens said:
Mine was going off every time I cook anything. I just took it off the wall and put it under my bed. I think it's still there. Been a couple of years.

If your bed ever catches fire, you'll be OK.
 
  • #19
It shouldn't go off when you are cooking. If so you need to cook at a lower heat. Your food is ideally supposed to have a uniform temperature so if smoke is happening your food has reached equilibrium at "charred" . Browning isn't supposed to make that much smoke and it should only be part of your heating process.
 
  • #20
I find roiling clouds of black smoke add a unique flavor to my food that simply can't be replicated any other way.
 
  • #21
Charred eggplant dip, my all-time favorite recipe! Too bad I don't have an open flame furnace..

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTrgqo9cXOxeC24z8muVUCstPPX5rJheZ-M2iMomfD3pHuoeZUj.jpg
 

Similar threads

Why Would a Smoke Detector Go Off Without Smoke?
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
Fixing a Chirping Smoke Detector - What to Do?
  • · Replies 30 ·
2
Replies
30
Views
12K
High School Why can't I test a smoke detector with smoke?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Searching for Quiet Battery Operated Smoke Detectors
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
4K
High School Infrared Detectors & The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
  • · Replies 152 ·
6
Replies
152
Views
11K
HVAC Radiant cooling using deep lake for summer
  • · Replies 23 ·
Replies
23
Views
6K
Isolate solar charger PWM pulses
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
C# [C#] Code for project involving voice recognition and arduino
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
Other DOE/SULI Argonne Internship Housing
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
6K
What is the Connection Between Cortisol and Smoking?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
40K