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Help! Something's beeping

(28 Posts)
Esspee Sat 24-Oct-20 07:34:53

I don't think it was beeping during the night but certainly for the last hour there has been a regular irritating high pitched beep during us crazy. It is going off about once a minute.
First reaction was it must be a fire alarm so the batteries have been removed from each and every fire alarm in the house and still the beep continues.
Any ideas wise fellow gransnetters?

Fennel Sun 25-Oct-20 11:38:50

When we lived in the country we sometimes heard a regular beeping coming from outside. Checked all the electrics, not them.
After searching online found the culprit - a midwife toad! It was hiding in the damp grass at the edge of the patio, babies on its back.

Hellogirl1 Sat 24-Oct-20 23:37:48

A few years ago my daughter and myself kept hearing a loud beeping noise, coming from the cupboard under the stairs. All we could think of in there that might just beep was the electric meter. Rang the electricity board (remember them?), was told not to touch the meter and they`d send someone out. 2 men arrived, spent about 15 minutes in the cupboard checking the meter out, then one came out carrying a brown paper bag. Inside was a toy my grandson had left behind, a car that ran around the outside of a cylinder, beeping all the time! I felt so daft!!!

Spice101 Sat 24-Oct-20 23:13:52

We had an intermittent beep that refused to leave and hunted high and low for it, checked all the regular suspects and found nothing.

One evening my OH was right beside the draw when the beep went off. Inside the draw was the culprit..........................it was his old ICD (pacemaker/defibrillator) which had been replaced several years previously. He had kept the old one --for reasons known only to him which ironically had been replaced because the battery life was considered to be up.

ElaineI Sat 24-Oct-20 18:48:32

My mother's smoke alarm battery bleeped loudly in the middle of the night. She pressed her alarm button and they sent the fire brigade with lights flashing. The firemen were very kind to her and changed the batteries for her. She was mortified but very grateful as she can't see.
We have a new law just published in Scotland which takes effect in February 2021 - not a lot of time. Every home must have a smoke alarm on each floor and the room most used by people, a heat detector in the kitchen and a carbon monoxide detector near the boiler. Apart from the CM detector they must all be interconnected and hard wired. Householders have to pay for them and approximate cost is £200+ without the fitting costs!

kircubbin2000 Sat 24-Oct-20 15:11:29

Before I moved in the smoke alarm went off. Could have been blaring for days when I found it. It was deafening and I could see no way of disabling it as it was on a high ceiling. I rang the fire brigade just for advice and in minutes a crew arrived.They couldn't turn it off either so one got a ladder and pulled the alarm down. I never put it back and rely on a portable one.

Esspee Sat 24-Oct-20 14:54:52

Oldbat1. I understand why you resorted to a hammer. It was amazing you survived weeks of it. A few hours and I was glad to leave the house.

Esspee Sat 24-Oct-20 14:51:18

Thank you so much everybody. Apparently one of the smoke alarms had two batteries, one of which OH had overlooked. Every alarm now has brand new back up batteries so hopefully that won’t be a bother for many a long year.
Interestingly we were originally sure the beep was upstairs. Had to go out for a few hours and on our return we could hear it more clearly downstairs so started rechecking everything. Doesn’t help of course that I have tinnitus.

Oldbat1 Sat 24-Oct-20 12:40:01

We called out electrician as we had had this beep going off for weeks. They failed to locate where the beep was coming from and still it continued!!!! Eventually I located the culprit it was an old carbon monoxide alarm which a hammer silenced. Phew.

Jayt Sat 24-Oct-20 11:13:20

Smoke alarm needing a new battery?

rockgran Sat 24-Oct-20 10:42:54

Mine was the landline phone left out of its charger too long.

mamaa Sat 24-Oct-20 10:39:20

Fridge or freezer?

sparkly1000 Sat 24-Oct-20 10:24:12

I had this and it turned out to be my adjoining neighbours smoke alarm.

shysal Sat 24-Oct-20 10:05:02

If your smoke alarms are wired in, they will bleep when the battery is low, and will continue if you remove it. It can only be disabled by finding the correct fuse and flipping the switch.
Mine always go off during the night (sod's law), but I make sure that I have fresh batteries at the ready. It is no fun balancing on a ladder over the stair well in the middle of the night! Crazy position for the landing one!

Missedout Sat 24-Oct-20 09:40:06

My so-called 'smart' (electric) meter beeps when it loses contact with its home planet! This can happen at any time.

Sunlover Sat 24-Oct-20 09:37:06

This happened to us after a visit from our 18 month old granddaughter. We had gone to bed and the beeping started. Got up thinking it was the washing machine. Got back into bed and it happened again. After getting up numerous times we were wandering around trying to locate the intermittent beep. Eventually We discovered the phone handset posted in a vase of fake flowers.
We now make sure all phones, tv controls are put out of reach. ???

Oldwoman70 Sat 24-Oct-20 09:31:20

Do you have an answer machine? Is it switched on? If so there could be a message you haven't listened to. (I know this is unlikely but it is the only thing I can think of which hasn't already been mentioned!)

M0nica Sat 24-Oct-20 09:31:20

My aunt had a beep, she did everything, including getting the burglar alarm people in. It proved to be a clock sitting on shelf under the alarm.

kircubbin2000 Sat 24-Oct-20 09:21:35

My Facebook occasionally gives a loud bell ring like a cash register. What is that about?

tanith Sat 24-Oct-20 08:51:58

My burglar alarm beeps if one of it’s movement thingys needs replacement battery, also my fire alarm does this.

annodomini Sat 24-Oct-20 08:35:19

My smoke alarm did this when the battery was running out. The freezer alerted me when the door was not properly closed and my burglar alarm (even when it's not on) has a very annoying bleep when there's been even a very short power cut and it needs to be re-set.

Oldbutstilluseful Sat 24-Oct-20 08:17:03

Even if you take the batteries out of a smoke alarm, if it’s wired in, then, if it’s like mine it will only stop when new batteries are put in.

JackyB Sat 24-Oct-20 08:10:13

Have you got a new appliance which beeps when it's finished? Washing machine, tumble drier, microwave?

Grannynannywanny Sat 24-Oct-20 08:07:44

Sounds like something calling out for a new battery. I experienced that for 24 hrs recently. Checked all the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and couldn’t get to the bottom of it.
Eventually discovered it was a very old mobile phone I’d been using for back up for a couple of days. It doesn’t have a screen and was emitting a low battery warning. It had held its charge for a full week. Remember those days? I can’t get a full day out of my smartphone without the need to charge it.

YorkLady Sat 24-Oct-20 07:48:52

Cordless phone not put back into the cradle and needs a recharge????

craftyone Sat 24-Oct-20 07:39:54

That reminds me, I must get some smoke alarm batteries, they are wired up but have back up batteries, they beep when the batteries need replacing