Help with smoke detectors...

[speediva]

This is gonna sound really... odd... but I've had this oddity happen twice now where I take a nice, hot, relaxing shower. I open the shower curtain to dry off... and my smoke detectors (one located RIGHT outside the bathroom door and one located just about a foot away inside my bedroom) start SHRIEKING.

Lemme tell ya... it's amazing to be all nice and relaxed and then have to run half naked out of the shower so I can wave a towel around to get the lil barstools to stop beeping.

So my question to the awesome people of AF is... how the heck to I stop this from happening every time i take a daggone freaking shower?!?! I can't reach the smoke detectors, so it's not like I can easily disable them just so I can take a nice long shower. Is there anything I can do????

[Gohan Ryu]

Steam from a hot shower can set off certain types of smoke detectors. Better bathroom ventilation might help. Or cold showers. Or new detectors. Personally I'd just use it as an excuse to run around half naked waving a towel.

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by Gohan Ryu

Personally I'd just use it as an excuse to run around half naked waving a towel.

Since it's an optical sensor that basically "sees" if the air is clear or not, it's detecting blockage. Gohan's suggestions are all good, but I'd just move the detector a few feet away from the bathroom door so that puff of steam doesn't reach it.

[jon@af]

We've had the same problem at the in-law's house and we just solved it by showering with the door closed and keeping the fan on during and after the shower. Or, if you like, you can take the batteries out for a while, take your shower and then replace them.

[speediva]

CRAP.

I have 8' ceilings so I can't readily reach the detectors. Plus I'm in a rental, so I can't go relocating them either. Guess I will just have to use the fan from now on and make sure I close the door as I come/go. No free humidifier for me!

I always take super-hot showers because my hands/feet are ALWAYS freezing... which led to the diagnosis of Raynaud's syndrome tonight. So much for cold hands, warm heart. haha

[drunken monkey]

A smoke detector/alarm in a common area of a house shouldn't be of the type that would be set of by steam. Usually (and typically these days) it should be of an ionisation type and anything else just isn't as efficient or recommended. If you were in the UK, I'd recommend that you talk to your landlord about replacing it as your current one isn't to UK standards for use in a rental property.

In any case, you should have some sort of regulation regarding fire safety for rental properties so you should have a look for that via your letting agent maybe, who should in turn, if they're doing their job properly, pass on your message to the landlord.

In the mean time, do what 90% of tenents do and just unplug the thing.

[kris]

Originally Posted by speediva

Lemme tell ya... it's amazing to be all nice and relaxed and then have to run half naked out of the shower so I can wave a towel around to get the lil barstools to stop beeping.

[RaeRae1]

I know the thing that helps with the steamy mirrors in my bathroom. I picked up a Wallmart special $15 heater. Turn it on heat when you are showering. The heat and air movement tend to keep the steam from getting thick (I take super hot showers too - I love em!). Worth a shot for $15, plus all you need is a plug.

[speediva]

Originally Posted by kris

(asking for pictures)

I should have expected you would post something like that. The only thing that amazes me is that someone else didn't.

[kris]

[72chevelleOhio]

Originally Posted by speediva

I take a nice, hot, relaxing shower. I open the shower curtain to dry off..and then have to run half naked out of the shower so I can wave a towel around

Originally Posted by RaeRae1

(I take super hot showers too - I love em!).

....REAL sorry I'm late.

[2.2 Straight six]

Quit blazing in the shower? I know you want to be relaxed, but go blaze outside or something.

[WickedNYCowboy]

Disconnecting the battery isn't a safe option. Just turn the fan on. There may or may not be a code as previously mentioned, contact your local fire marshal's office for further info.

[BeZerK2112]

I have the same problem, on a different level. My apartment, all 500 Sq Feet of it, has 3 detectors. The one thats in the kitchen goes off all the time. All we have to do is boil water. They are all connected so they go off like crazy. Solution, remove the smoke detector. If your concerned about safety you can get some cheap ones that use double sided tape from walmart and place them where your shower wont mess with them. The funny part is everyone has this problem in the complex. If you go to the courtyard at dinner time you can hear at least 3 different apartments with their alarms going off.

[Nicole8188]

Mine does the same thing, we just disconnected the one outside the shower. There's still one downstairs next to the kitchen, so I hope if there's a fire, it's down there....