Smoke alarms undoubtedly save lives – but many in New Zealand's muggy north are finding them bleeping annoying.

People around the country, including Tauranga, are experiencing high levels of humidity due to an atmospheric river bringing hot, wet days to Aotearoa, and some are experiencing their alarms going off seemingly at random – sometimes in the middle of the night.

High humidity could be the culprit, as the devices have no way of distinguishing between light smoke particles and heavy moisture content.

False alarms can frequently occur once humidity reaches 85 per cent, according to Australian smoke alarm manufacturer PSA Products.

Tauranga has been experiencing 88 per cent humidity, Hamilton 89 per cent, Whangārei 92 per cent and Auckland a whopping 95 per cent on Thursday afternoon, according to MetService.

An unscientific Neighbourly poll in Northland and Auckland found 40 per cent of respondents were having a problem with their smoke alarms going off at random, likely due to the high humidity.

Helen Loo from Auckland's North Shore says her alarms went off at 2am.

'I don't mind during the day but you get a hell of a fright in the middle of the night.

'Kept happening so much, had to remove [the alarm] from my room.”

Helen says the problem was solved by the fire department installing a more top-of-the-line smoke alarm for her.

A resident in Tauranga was accused of burning dinner by her husband when their smoke alarm went off randomly one night last week.

"I wasn't even cooking dinner.

"My husband had to turn the damn thing off because I'm too short to reach it without standing on a chair. He loves giving me lip about it."

So what else can be done to stop an unwanted false alarm?

Fire and Emergency's manager of community education and behaviour change Adrian Nacey says people should be vacuuming their smoke alarms regularly to remove dust or insects.

'We recommend that people clean and test their smoke alarms regularly, about once a month.

'While this may not stop this problem completely, it will help to reduce the number of false alarms.”

Smoke alarms with a 9V battery should have the battery replaced once a year and the actual device needs to be replaced once a decade, Fire and Emergency recommends.

Smoke alarms should not be placed in the kitchen or bathroom due to steam, but heat alarms could be used instead.

PSA Products recommends people having trouble with their smoke alarm going off due to humidity use a hair dryer to remove any water particles.

To help reduce the humidity in your home, it recommends circulating the air with a ceiling fan and the windows open, closing the windows when it is high humidity outside and using an air conditioner or dehumidifier.

Other tips include using ventilation when cooking or showering, reducing the number of houseplants inside and drying laundry outside.

While false alarms can be annoying, Adrian says people should not be tempted to remove or disable their smoke alarm if they are having trouble.

'Smoke alarms are vital piece of safety equipment for you and your whānau.

'They will help to ensure you get an early warning of a fire or smoke in your home.

'Humans lose their sense of smell while sleeping, therefore a smoke alarm will help to wake you in the event of a fire and help you to escape.”

Adrian says while the weather maybe humid now for some, winter tends to be when more unwanted fires occur in people's homes, caused by heating, electric blankets, clothes dryers and chimneys.

She recommends all homes do a winter fire safety check.

-Denise Piper/Stuff.