Banished away to the back of a drawer, a 10 year old smoke alarm drove its owners literally mad with its constant bleeping.
The constant bleeping was a warning to advise of its weakening batteries but the owners had long forgotten about it and couldn't work out where the bleeping sound was coming from.
The retired couple from Essex were quite literally tearing their hair out trying to work out where the bleeping was coming from - after a year they resorted to pulling up floorboards in an attempt to locate the sound - nothing was found. They had even checked their grandchildrens toys to ensure a battery was not wearing out. In the Summer however, the bleeping had appeared to stop.
It was soon back with a vengence though. Returning home from a fortnights holiday the couple found that the bleeping was back and this time it was bleeping every 30 seconds. Something had to be done as the couple were now unable to sleep at night due to the constant bleeping sound coming from this mysery location!
They even resorted to hiring builders to check between 2 plaster walls following advice that the sound was appearing to come from inbetween the walls. Still nothing was found and the couple were getting desperate as well as the added expensive of having to replaster and decorate the walls.
The fire alarm was eventually located when a search by the couple upstairs in the dark lead them to an old desk. When the drawer of the desk was opened, the bleeping suddenly became louder. Right at the back of the drawer, the smoke alarm was found bleeping to advise of its low battery power.
Of course, the couple were amazed to find the true cause of a noice that had been causing such an inconvienience to their lives for so long. It was also a huge relief, although they still think they can hear it - this is hardly a surprise for the bleep of a smoke alarm is very loud and high pitched. After all they are designed to alert you and get you out of a property - certainly not a sound anyone wishes to be around for longer than necessary!
The moral of the story......
Always remember when packing away or not using items that require batteries, always remove the batteries first!
Never hide your smoke alarms away - one day they may well come back to haunt you!
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-19921055