Somewhere in the house there is a plastic disc on the ceiling that Mom used to reach for with the step stool, and right now it is chirping about once a minute. You have probably heard it from the kitchen. He has probably heard it too, and he has probably decided it can wait.
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Daughters tend to find this one at two in the morning, standing in the hallway in her socks, trying to work out which of the beeping things is the one. That is a good place to start, because the chirp is not always the same problem. Sometimes it means the battery is running down. Sometimes it means the alarm itself is worn out and needs to be replaced whole. And sometimes it means a man who is tired of being woken up has pulled the battery and left it on the dresser, and now the hall is silent. The silence is the part to watch.
What goes wrong
Smoke alarms rarely fail loudly. A battery alarm chirps when its power is low, and most of the time a fresh battery of the right kind settles it. An alarm that starts chirping again soon after a new battery is telling you something else. Many alarms also have a date printed on the back, and once that date has passed the unit is meant to be replaced, even if it still sounds when tested. Steam from the bathroom and cooking smoke can set off the alarms nearest the kitchen and bath, so those are often the first to act up.
The quiet version looks different. The chirp stops, but nothing was fixed. You walk past the hall and see an alarm with its cover off and the battery sitting on the windowsill beside the coffee cup. Ask him about it casually and he will tell you it was driving him mad, which is probably true and is also the whole problem.
What to do tonight
Walk the house with a flashlight and count the alarms. Most homes have one in or near each sleeping area and at least one on each floor. Write down which ones run on batteries, which are plugged into the wall or wired into the ceiling, and which are sealed units with no battery door at all. Those are different jobs, and you want that list in your handbag before you call anyone.
Press the test button on each one and hold it for a moment. If it sounds loudly, it has power and a working horn. If it stays silent after a firm press, that unit is finished, whatever the battery says.
Check the printed date on the back of each alarm. If it has passed, mark that alarm on your list as a replacement, not a repair.
For the ones that chirp, buy the battery type the label on the alarm calls for and put in a fresh one. Do it with him in the room if you can. Ask him to hold the stepladder, which he will enjoy more than he lets on. Then press the test button again and listen. Do not leave a battery out on the counter, and do not let anyone pull one to stop a noise. If the alarm is wired into the house, leave the wires alone and call someone to look at it.
The First Hundred Days guide at The First Hundred Days After Mom Died covers the other house checks that tend to slip in the same weeks, and it is worth reading alongside this one.
What to check before you buy or call
Read the back of the alarm before you shop. It will show the battery type, the printed date, and whether the unit is a battery model or a sealed one. Bring the old alarm, or a photo of its label, so you do not come home with the wrong kind or a unit that will not fit the mounting plate. If you are thinking about replacing the whole set, ask whether the new alarms link together, so that one going off sounds in every room. Have the clerk point to that feature on the box rather than simply telling you it is there.
When to call someone
Call a licensed electrician if an alarm is wired into the house and keeps chirping after a battery change, or if a wired alarm has been silent for some time. Your local fire department can often tell you whether they check home alarms or who does. If he says he can no longer hear the test tone well, that is worth mentioning to his doctor, who can tell you what is going on. And if either of you is unsure about the ladder, nobody climbs. Have someone steady at the foot of it.
The good-week card
Every alarm in the house was pressed and listened to this week, and any that chirped got a fresh battery with him standing there holding the ladder.