Have you noticed after 5 years the smoke detectors outside cover turn an ugly shade of brown? And it says “Do not paint” on them. LOL. I smell planned obsolescence.
“Have you noticed after 5 years the smoke detectors outside cover turn an ugly shade of brown? And it says “Do not paint” on them. LOL. I smell planned obsolescence.”
The reason for this (I’m pretty certain) is that bromine is used as a fire retardant in the plastic. Having the plastic melt instead of catching fire might give it another critical minute to keep blaring in a fire.
“Have you noticed after 5 years the smoke detectors outside cover turn an ugly shade of brown?”
From what I understand, that’s bromine used in the manufacturing of the plastic. It is particularly bad if the plastic is exposed to sunlight.
There’s a mix people whip up to restore the color of things like old computers. You basically make a kind of paste, smear it on the plastic, and expose the whole thing to UV light. While it makes the plastic a bit less rigid (nothing to *really* worry about ... but a good drop will crack the plastic), you can restore the item to its original color and it’ll look the day it did when it was manufactured.
Overall, I don’t think there is any planned obsolescence ... I do think it is a good idea to get new ones every few years just in case the smoke sensor loses its effectiveness.