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I know this sounds like a silly question and it may be closed before it may get a single answer but there is something strange in my house which beeps infrequently. I tried to troubleshoot the sound but no luck. I thought may be its coming from the living room but there is nothing special in the living room which may make a beep sound.

Can someone point me what should i look for to figure out what is making this sound?

Asdfg
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7 Answers7

10

Random theories:

  • smoke alarm
  • kids toy
  • a robot
  • cell phone
  • handheld video game
  • a bomb
DA01
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    usually a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide alarm with a low battery. The occasional beep is the signal that the battery is getting low. They can be frustrating to locate as for some reason the high pitch beep is hard to narrow down to a single room. I usually close all the doors to rooms to help eliminate areas. – quentin-starin Dec 25 '11 at 04:18
  • Bombs are easy to find. Just look for the glow from the red LED display counting down to detonation. :) – Steve Fallows Jan 08 '14 at 03:00
7

Most likely a smoke detector or CO detector with a dying battery.

Dave Nay
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  • i know the sound of smoke detector which is pretty loud. This beep is not that loud and if i am watching TV, i barely hear it. I dont think i have CO detectors in my house. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 19:54
  • I have also heard some cordless phone handsets make a beep when their battery is almost dead. Check the couch cushions. – Dave Nay Dec 23 '11 at 19:55
  • No cordless phones in the house. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 19:56
  • Can anyone else hear this mysterious beeping? ;-) – Dave Nay Dec 23 '11 at 19:57
  • Yeah. My wife can hear it too. Its not ghostly at all. I know something attached to electric outlet should be causing it but i have checked every outlet and nothing that beeps is attached to any. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 19:59
  • Another random theory....a UPS for your computer? – Dave Nay Dec 23 '11 at 20:03
  • no ups in the house. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 20:07
  • An alarm on the furnace thermostat? Time to change to filter? – Dave Nay Dec 23 '11 at 20:15
  • It could be. Arent they supposed to show Low Battery indicator if the battery is about to die? – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 20:23
  • @Asdfg, actually, random beeping is much more likely to be caused by something that is not plugged in, i.e. something that runs on a battery (and said battery is dying). – Martha Dec 23 '11 at 22:21
  • My Sister-in-law spent weeks tracking one of these beeps down; it turned out to be a smoke detector, that had never been installed, in a "to-do" pile of stuff in the basement. – TomG Dec 24 '11 at 00:26
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    The dying battery sound of a smoke alarm or CO detector is not going to be as loud as when it's actually warning you. Check them. – The Evil Greebo Dec 24 '11 at 17:12
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    it looks it was furnace thermostat filter is beeping. I have turned it off and cleaned the filter. If it still beeps, it must be Sumpump battery. Thanks for helping me to narrow it down. – Asdfg Dec 25 '11 at 19:20
  • @Asdfg: You should accept Steven's answer if it was your thermostat filter reminder. – quentin-starin Dec 26 '11 at 05:44
  • It is not thermostat that is beeping. It is Sump Pump backup battery. It looks i may have to change it. – Asdfg Dec 26 '11 at 15:56
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Fios battery backup? Those can beep.

Aaron
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2

On top of what other people have said:

  • Fridge (door open, temp low)
  • Computer
  • Thermostat (filter reminder)
  • Alarm clock (low battery)

Or maybe it's not a beep but rather a squeak (furnace fan, fridge compressor, door opening/closing, window, water meter, gas meter, etc.)

Steven
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I'd say it's a fire or smoke alarm. Is it a short chirp every couple of minutes. If its not somewhere obvious then it might be a bit difficult to track down, human ears are very bad at locating these high frequencies. You could try using you computer to measure the volume at various points in the room. Sounds elaborate but it might be the only way to track it down.

Paul T Davies
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    sometimes it beeps once in a couple of hours and sometimes once in an hour. It doesnt beep very frequently. I tried to note the timing and found it at least beeps once in two hours. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 20:02
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    Is it just a single beep or a sequence? – Paul T Davies Dec 23 '11 at 20:03
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    just a single beep. similar to coffee maker beep but less intense and only one beep. – Asdfg Dec 23 '11 at 20:05
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Could be your dishwasher... Some models have an audible alert for when you need to change the water filter.

RQDQ
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Have you checked couch cushions? Had a child watch fall into one of ours and it beeped on the hour. Other things to look out for old cell phones or pagers which are alerting that their battery needs to be charged.

ahsteele
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