The alarm rarely fails all at once. It starts as a single chirp in the hallway, then gets pushed to tomorrow, then gets wrapped in a towel or left to run out its battery. By the time anyone notices, the device may have stopped being able to warn anyone at all. If she is staying in her own house, the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are some of the few things in it that are working for her while she sleeps, and they need an owner the same way her stairs and her medicine do.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What the chirp is telling you
A detector that chirps on its own, usually every so often and often at night, is almost always asking for one of two things: a new battery or a replacement. Read the label on the back of the unit and the manual if you can find it. Many alarms print an end-of-life marking, and when the unit reaches it, the whole device is due for replacement even if the battery is fine. Write down what kind of battery it takes and whether the unit is sealed. A sealed unit cannot have its battery swapped, so the chirp means the whole alarm is finished.
Do not let a chirp sit until the next visit. Decide now who answers it. If you are the only person who can climb up to reach the ceiling, say so out loud and put it on the calendar. If someone else in the house is responsible, make sure they know what the chirp sounds like and what to do when they hear it.
What to check on each level, once a month
Press the test button on every alarm and listen for the full sound, not just a blink. Look at each unit for dust, a yellowed cover, or a cracked housing. Make sure nothing is hanging over it, such as a curtain or a shelf that blocks the sensor. Check that every level of the house has an alarm and that the carbon monoxide unit is placed where the manufacturer's guidance on the box says it should go, which is often near sleeping areas. If the alarms are interconnected, test one and confirm that the others sound too.
Keep a short paper log beside the stairs or on the refrigerator. Write what you tested, what you found, and what you replaced. A log is the difference between knowing the alarms work and hoping they do, and it is the first thing a new helper or a family member can read when they walk in cold.
When her hearing changes the plan
A standard alarm is built to wake an average sleeper. If she is hard of hearing, sleeps deeply, or uses a hearing aid she takes out at night, the sound may not reach her in time. Ask the company that makes her current alarms whether it sells models with a strobe light or a bed shaker, or whether an accessory can be added. Ask your local fire department whether it offers home safety visits or can point you to low-cost options. Do not assume that because the alarm is loud to you, it will reach her bedroom with the door closed.
Questions to ask before you decide the house is safe enough
Ask who will replace a sealed unit when it reaches the end of its life, and whether that person has a ladder and the time to do it. Ask whether the carbon monoxide unit is in the right place for the rooms she sleeps in, and whether any gas appliance was added or moved since it was installed. Ask what happens if an alarm sounds at 2am: who she calls first, who you call, and what she is supposed to do while she waits. The answer should be written down, not carried in someone's head.
If the answer to any of these is 'I am not sure,' that is the signal to fix the gap now, while the stakes are an afternoon's work and not a night's emergency. For help finding people near you who can test, replace, or advise on alarms, see Local help for keeping her home.