People whos jobs take them into other peoples homes, how often do you find smoke alarm low battery beeps?

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Redditor274929@reddit

This doesn't apply to me but to answer your last question, we just get used to it. When if as younger for a period of time ours did that for months. You just get used to it and stop noticing it and it becomes background noise. It's similair to how some people don't smell how awful their own homes smell

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reo_reborn@reddit

"It's similair to how some people don't smell how awful their own homes smell" This is a BIG paranoria for me. We take care of my mother in law who is doubly incontenant. While she can't help it I am constantly trying to cover the smell of wee and poo and reduce it. Then, About 4 weeks ago a nurse came in and went "Ugh, you can smell she's got a water infection just by walking into the house.." 1: She didn't have a water infection. That's just the smell. 2: I then realized I could no longer smell it. :(

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Redditor274929@reddit

I have a bad sense of smell in general so I understand the paranoia bc that's how I feel about how I smell. That was really unprofessional on the nurses part tho. I've been in similair situations and that is absolutely not the response. I mean this genuinely and not to make you feel bad but is there good ventilation? I find it odd that you've been struggling to resolve the smell. As someone who has dealt with many doubly incontinent people at work and never had this issue, usually the smell would dissipate after a while unless there were UTIs or cdiff etc.

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reo_reborn@reddit

I know what you mean. I don't think she meant it in a nasty way it just took her breath away a little. No that's fine! Any advice is welcome lol Yep. The house is well ventilated. My wife and I get very hot so we have windows open even during the winter. She has COPD and raspatory failure stage 2 so we leave the windows open for the fresh air. The problem mainly lies in her drinking habits. She barely drinks 200-300Ml a day. This makes her urine extremely pottant. This also causes UTI's maybe once a month which makes it far worse. Once the urine gets onto her Pj's it's extremely hard to get out. We have even purchased a Steam washing machine which is supposed to help but doesn't really. I normally leave her clothes in soak as much as I can in clothing Dettel for 24-48 hours which normally gets it out but sometimes it doesn't. We've honestly spent way over £200-300 in different detergents and nothing seems to fully get rid of the smell/bacteria that's causing it. We also use disposable bed pads which we hoped would help as you can just throw them out after. Sadly this doesn't do much either. Last year she had to have a catheter for about 2 months and the smell went. Sadly, now she's back on pads it's back to smelling. Then she got cdiff.. It sounds like you already know the unique smell that comes along with that. Once again I know she can't help it bless her<3

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super_starmie@reddit

Are they not able to do a long term catheter if her incontinence is so bad? Also I'm surprised she's able to function at all on that small amount of water... Is it because she's frightened to drink more because of the incontinence, or because of dementia etc? For the UTIs has anyone mentioned a supplement called D-Mannose to you? My dad has had a permanent catheter for over two years and suffered with constant blockages and UTIs and other issues that were so bad he ended up in hospital several times. He's had sepsis twice. He'd have a UTI, get antibiotics, and within a week of finishing the course he'd have another UTI. I'd get called at all hours of the day and night because he had a catheter blockage. His MS nurse suggested we give D-Mannose a try. Apparently it's supposed to help stop bacteria that causes UTIs from sticking to the urethra wall. We were sceptical because it's just a food supplement, but we were desperate and would have tried anything and honestly, it's like magic. Ever since he started it, zero blockages. Zero UTIs. Can't even see any debris in the tube - it used to look like cottage cheese (Ew lol), now it's just normal. I don't get called at 3am anymore because of a blockage. When I visit I'm no longer compulsively checking his catheter output every five minutes. I'm so relieved and also so annoyed that over two years of hell and the answer was a simple bloody supplement I could buy off Amazon! Anyway if MIL is able to take tablets it's definitely worth a try as it's been amazing for my dad, but that water intake needs increasing for sure. You can also break open the capsules and mix it into food/drink but it apparently tastes awful!

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shutupspanish@reddit

Have you tried an enzymatic cleaner? I used to work in an elderly people’s home and we used a generic enzymatic cleaner to clean any bodily fluids. It definitely keeps the smell manageable.

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Redditor274929@reddit

While it doesn't sound like she meant to be nasty, it doesn't change the fact it's unprofessional. I'm a nursing support worker in the hospitals and I know for a fact I've accidentally been unprofessional at times and how I sadly know the very specific cdiff smell. I'm sorry to hear she's struggling so much and I can't imagine how hard it must be on all of you trying to care for her. I can definitely understand the issue much better now and I wish I had advice but I know how tricky it can be in that situation. Catheters are definitely great at helping lessen the smell until draining time. Sorry if im being too invasive so I understand if you don't want to disclose details but is her skin okay? Being so incontinent can cause serious breakdown of the skin (a common reason people get catheterised so wouldn't be surprising if that was the case for her). If it's causing further issues she might be able to get a long term catheter although ofc these have their own risks and I don't know anywhere near enough to make recommendations but it could be an option if this sounds applicable to your situation. It's really tough and I hope the best for you all. Sending hugs x

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Oh dear sweetie that sounds really difficult xxx

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Dissidant@reddit

You mean "noseblind" same as when you are a non smoker or drinker in close proximity to someone who has had either recently, especially if its in a car or an elevator.. it heaves where as they think the mint they are crunching has masked it

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MissingScore777@reddit

I actually don't have the 'tuning out' power most people seem to have. Parents had to get rid of their clocks that ticked when I was a kid as it was like torture to me and stopped me sleeping.

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Lady-of-Shivershale@reddit

Misophonia? My husband and I reckon I have that. I can't hear him properly when he speaks, sometimes. God forbid he clicks his nails while in a different room.

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Redditor274929@reddit

Yeah not everyone has it, usually linked to specific reasons. Honestly can't imagine how irritating it must be to not be able to tune things out

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MissingScore777@reddit

Can confirm it gets really annoying in certain situations! Something that I assume is linked - I also can't understand what people are saying if there's other competing sound. It's not a volume thing, my ears receive the sound of speech ok but my brain can't understand it. It's as if it merges the two sounds and the result is a garbled mess.

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Redditor274929@reddit

Yeah it's a really common symptom of conditions that also come along with being unable to tune out to background noise

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MissingScore777@reddit

Yeah seems to be commonly associated with autism from what others have said but I'm not remotely autistic in any way. This sound processing thing is the only box I tick, nowhere near for anything else.

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Redditor274929@reddit

Yeah I won't lie it really does sound like autism or adhd but I didn't want to be that person. What you described in your last comment sounds exactly like auditory processing disorder which commonly occurs with those things

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MissingScore777@reddit

That's fair, I've heard similar before. But I really do have zero other symptoms, so have always assumed it wasn't those things and was just a quirk of being me.

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Redditor274929@reddit

Yeah dw I believe you. Ive been accused of being autistic for having traits despite not having the majority of symptoms and I know how annoying it can be. Wish more people knew that having traits of a disorder doesn't necessarily mean they have it

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Funmachine@reddit

Nobody smells how their home smells, or their clothes or their breath etc. Olfactory senses acclimatise faster than any other sense. Your home always smells, but it's just of you so you don't notice.

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Redditor274929@reddit

Yeah that's my point. People don't realise bc it's just background information we've stopped processing the same

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kibi_zero@reddit

I'm genuinly curious to know why people don't change the battery? what makes people decide that its better to risk killing your family and neighbours? batteries are a lot cheapers to replace than your home and kids

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Alwayslisteningin@reddit

https://preview.redd.it/6sw5j7ll51xe1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=fab09dd6c083490df6d8fa7dabcb57796d8900ed This was the battery I found in the property I've recently moved into... The beeping has long ceased!

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tomval2k@reddit

Just think how old the smoke alarm itself is!

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dubhghall6616@reddit

All the time, I am an electrician and professional installer of fire alarms easy money

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jukkakamala@reddit

I used to be a TV technician, went to peoples houses to repair their TV's, CRT era. If not hundreds, at least tens, i "repaired" the beeping TV by changing fire alarm battery. It was longish time ago when alarms were tenants responsibility. Now law has changed and alarms are landlords responsibility. Must say, most of my clients were older people not able to carry TV to repair shop why they called us. Also not able to reach the alarm to change the battery in the first place anyway.

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NeilDeWheel@reddit

I lived in a brand new housing association flat, I was the first tenant. If went to the left of the room it sounded like it was coming from the right, and visa versa After three months there was a beep, every minute coming from the kitchen/living room. I checked the smoke alarm but it wasn’t that. Next I suspected my electronic items but turning them all off, including from the main consumer board failed to stop the beeping. The next day I called the housing association to report it and they said as it wasn’t an emergency they would get someone out in three days. I had to put up with it beeping, every minute for over 72 hours. The beep could be heard throughout the whole flat so at night I had to wear ear plugs to be able to sleep. At times I thought it had stopped but as soon as I thought about it would beep again, like it was mocking me. When the maintenance man came he couldn’t find the source either so he reported back, escalating it. It took a further two days for a knock on the door and a new guy came in with a ladder and a saw. He went to the middle of my kitchen/living room, sawed a hole in the ceiling and reaching in he pulled out an industrial smoke alarm. After, he explained that while the flats were being built mine was used as tyhe site’s canteen so regulations mandated mains powered smoke alarms needed to be fitted to the bare ceiling. Once the other flats were completed the smoke alarm was disconnected from the mains and boarded over with a false ceiling. The smoke alarm was left there but as it had a battery backup it took three months for the battery to go flat and start beeping up there, then it took nearly an annoyingly long week to find the cause. Tl;dr workmen left a smoke alarm in my new flat’s false ceiling. Three months later the battery went flat and i had to put up with week of beeping before it was discovered and removed.

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BikesandCakes@reddit

2nd guy must have had a good memory to know what the issue was and exactly where to cut. People like that are worth thier weight in gold.

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Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit

The ceiling bird be chirping

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Gob1inDaddy@reddit

Sometimes they beep when they malfunction too even if the battery is full And fun fact! You can only mute the fire angel ones 10 times 😬😬😬 guess how i know this

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MLMSE@reddit

You get it a lot when you are video calling someone. You mention the beeping and they are completely oblivious to it.

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ib1225@reddit

I used to be a security alarm engineer and used to get so many call outs for 'alarm system is constantly bleeping'. I'd ring them and say are you sure its not your smoke detector to which they confidently say "no, its definitely the alarm". As you've guessed, every one used to be the smoke detector

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Dissidant@reddit

I actually keep spare bits like that in my vehicle with work tools/equipment and if I hear one going off I'll ask them if they want it changing because I get headaches at the best of times and don't want to hear the thing chirping for hours plus, well fire Its fairly rare though. About the same frequency as properties which don't actually have a detector which is equally disturbing

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FantasticWeasel@reddit

Ours starred beeping at midnight the other week. Had to put up with it until the shops opened the next morning and we could buy a new battery. No idea how people can live with it for longer.

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iamdefinitelynotdave@reddit

I probably go into around 30 different properties a week, and I can't recall ever hearing a smoke alarm beep.

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Plenty_Suspect_3446@reddit

Quite often. And my neighbours has been going for months, i've got no idea how the battery hasn't actually died yet. But it's nowhere near as often as terrible smells in peoples houses.

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peekachou@reddit

I go into 3 or 4 homes a day at work for the last two and a half years, I can't ever recall hearing a low battery beep

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Grimdotdotdot@reddit

I deliver groceries. Never heard it ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯

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_pankates_@reddit

Work in lettings. Hear it all the time in student houses or empty houses, almost never hear it otherwise. I actually don't know why it seems to get left to beep more in student houses. Maybe it's a feeling of 'someone else will do it' because it's a group of essentially individuals living together, rather than a family unit? I know I couldn't live with it! I always report it, especially if it's an empty house then I'm very aware that it could be annoying for neighbours and could just go on and on with nobody there to sort it.

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kibi_zero@reddit

Worked in a call centre, majority of people have the fire alarm beeps going off, i don’t know how they cope with that constant beep

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