When do smoke detectors go off

We've all experienced the panic of hearing a smoke alarm go off and immediately jumping into action mode -- only to realize there's no emergency. The loud beep is grating and you may even be tempted to remove the batteries, but that could leave your home vulnerable to a real fire. Before your frustration builds to the point of battery removal -- or insanity, follow these safety and prevention tips. Read more to find out why your smoke detector goes off and how you can deal with the false alarms.

There are two different types of smoke detectors. Ionization smoke detectors have two plates with an electric charge flowing between them. When something -- like smoke -- flows between these two plates, the electric charge is interrupted and the alarm is triggered.

Photoelectric smoke detectors have a small light inside. When something enters the detector and reflects the light onto a sensor, the alarm is triggered. Notice how both of these types of detectors don't really detect smoke.

They're triggered by foreign objects interacting with parts inside the detectors. This means that anything that can float into your smoke detector, like vapor, steam, smoke and large puffs of dust, can trigger your smoke detector.

Another common cause is the volatile organic compounds in paints or other chemical treatments in the house. Some of them can set off these alarms as well. It just depends on how the sensor is tuned. Most new sensors are pretty well tuned. It emits alpha particles, which you can think of as little bullets. These little bullets come out of the source and hit air molecules to break them apart.

When that happens, some broken pieces will be positively charged, and others will be negatively charged. This movement of charged particles is what we call electrical current.

If smoke is coming into the area where this breaking apart is happening, it will block the charged particles from moving, reducing the current. It ionizes the air and causes current to flow between those two plates.

If smoke enters the chamber where those plates are located, it disrupts the flow of ions and triggers the alarm. Another type of smoke detector aims a light source at an angle away from an internal sensor. If smoke enters the chamber, it reflects that light onto the sensor and triggers the alarm. These are known as photoelectric systems. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that you use both types of smoke detectors in your home.

Each is sensitive to certain types of fires. Well perform tests and help you determine which detectors are best for your home.