How to avoid set off smoke detectors

[AllenHe]

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.

 

[Evo]

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.

 

[AllenHe]

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

 

[Evo]

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.

 

[Yanick]

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.

 

[Evo]

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.

 

[dlgoff]

Never hurts to get a refresher.

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

 

[russ_watters]

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.

 

[russ_watters]

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.

 

[zoobyshoe]

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.)

 

[SteamKing]

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.

 

[xxChrisxx]

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.

 

[xxChrisxx]

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.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

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.

 

[Borek]

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?

 

[Evo]

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.

 

[leroyjenkens]

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.

 

[lisab]

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.

 

[jesse73]

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.

 

[Drakkith]

I find roiling clouds of black smoke add a unique flavor to my food that simply can't be replicated any other way.

 

[Monique]

Charred eggplant dip, my all-time favorite recipe! Too bad I don't have an open flame furnace..