[mab]

On the subject of smoke alarms, if your smoke alarm beeps intermittently (and it isn't the battery),  it may be indicating that it has got too dirty (dust accumulates inside them and confuses the smoke detection system. This is often a problem on mains powered alarms as they don't get disturbed & opened like the battery powered ones.


if you have this problem, try taking it down and use a hoover to suck out the dust/spiders/dead flies - can save you the cost of a new alarm. If you have actually kept the instructions supplied with the alarm they often advise cleaning periodically with a vacuum cleaner.