PSA: A client's 'dead' motion sensor in Phoenix was just covered in dust

Last week I was on a service call for a system that kept having false alarms. The homeowner was sure the living room sensor was broken. When I got up on the ladder, I saw the lens was completely coated in a fine layer of dust from their recent remodel. I wiped it clean with a microfiber cloth, and it started working perfectly again. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that save a trip for a whole new unit?

3 comments

3 Comments

willowthomas1mo ago

My buddy had a smoke alarm beeping from a tiny spiderweb inside it.

dakota1601mo ago

That spiderweb thing is wild... reminds me of when my carbon monoxide detector kept going off from dust bunnies in the vent. Sometimes those sensors are just way too sensitive for their own good.

christopher_kim22d ago

Ask your buddy if the spider was still in there when he opened it up. Honestly, I'm curious because I had a similar thing happen with a wasp nest inside a porch light once, and the whole thing was buzzing like crazy. Ngl, it's kind of wild how bugs can just set off these sensitive sensors like they're nothing. Did he have to completely take the alarm apart to clear the web out, or did he just spray some compressed air in there? Tbh, I feel like most people would just ignore the beeping for way too long before bothering to check. That's the real struggle.