Welcome home by the heat alarm

Travelling home from the Netherlands by train is a long slog! I was glad I got home. I could already hear the cat inside when I approached the door. And then I got in and things were a bit less welcoming. 

My house smelled a bit strange. And I heard a strange beep. What was going on? Had I left something on?

I snuggled and fed the cat. And did a little round to see if everything was ok. All seemed fine! Except that the heat alarm in the kitchen seemed to run low on battery. Hence the beeping. Some of these alarms might be quite demure in their communications of diminishing battery charge, but not this one. The sound was decidedly unpleasant! But I really didn't want to deal with that right now. I had the strong suspicion I didn't have the required battery, and I had only just got home. I really didn't want to leave again. So I just checked how loud the sound was if I just closed the kitchen door. And it was bearable!

I made sure in the cat's food and water were outside the kitchen as well. And the smell? I never found out what that was about. Maybe that was placebo effect. Maybe your house always smells a bit strange if you have been away, and maybe you place too much emphasis on that when you also hear disconcerting sounds. But I stopped worrying about it. And I went to bed fairly early. And I did manage to sleep through the sound, that I could still hear. I couldn't really close more doors, as that would impede the cat.

As the sound was so unpleasant, it was pretty much the first task in the morning to sort that out. I shut down the electricity to the alarm, took it down, removed the battery, and went to the local shop to buy a new one. I decided to buy two. If this alarm is running out, it is quite possible the other alarms are not far behind. If the next one goes, I can sort that out without having to go to the shop.

I put the new battery in, and put everything back in place. Such a small job really, but just a bit too much after a 12 hour train journey. I hope that's me sorted for years now!