So here's the deal, I really need to run the oven cleaner, and I know how much smoke will come out of the oven, and I have a wired smoke alarm directly above the stove (landlord's design not mine). If I cover it with a sandwich bag, will that slow down the chance of it going off or increase the chance? Yes I know to remove the bag directly after the oven cleaner is done for obvious saftey reasons.
Yes, bagging it will prevent tripping the alarm unless it is a tamperproof model. I used to install fire protection systems in hospitals and schools and we would put a baggie with a string attached to each detector so they did not trip from dust and welding smoke during copnstruction operations. Once the job was complete and the building was cleaned up we would walk through and pull off the plastic. Wrap a rubber band around the baggie so it stays snug. You can also avoid the tripping by opening a window near the stove and putting a fan in it as well as turning on the stove exhaust fan if you have one.
I would just go to the electrical panel in the basement and turn off the breaker. There should be a separate breaker for the smoke alarms. Just remember to turn them back on.
