I'm hoping someone can help me, and it's not an emergency. I've got a smoke detector in my basement that is going off. It's near a dryer and near my oil furnace, but there is no visible fire. I know that a shower can make a smoke detector go off. Is there something that I'm overlooking that would cause this to happen?
The wiring may be faulty, or the batteries were loosing life. It happens every now and then.
There is a tiny amount of mercury vapor. If you break the lamp then don't breath near it. Otherwise it is safe. It may be worthwhile recycling the mercury in the lamps to avoid a buildup over time. There is only about 20 milligrams of mercury in a lamp.
Carbon monoxide occurs from incomplete combustion. So, if your gas stove is properly tuned, then no. If you have a large amount yellow flame, then you are generating CO. Occasional flickers of yellow flame is not a problem. But if there's not a source of fresh air, eventually, you will get incomplete combustion because of the lack of oxygen.
Smoke detectors will usually make a short, very loud beep about once a minute when their battery is low. If it actually went off, though, it's more likely that the ion chamber detected something it perceived was smoke. Bits of very fine dust in the air and even small insects can sometimes cause this. If the detector's old, replace the whole thing. They cost less than $10 - it's the cheapest life insurance you can buy.
why are you asking this in an Air travel/Airline forum? This has nothing to do with air traveldirect your inquiry to an appropriate forum.
