DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am trying to drink more water, so I set an alarm on my phone to remind me hourly. Sometimes I am in public when the alarm (birds or crickets chirping) goes off.

I turn it off immediately, but my husband says the noise is rude. But if I could remember to shut off the alarm when leaving the house, I wouldn’t need an alarm to drink water in the first place. Am I being impolite?

GENTLE READER: It depends where the alarm goes off. If it goes off in the car, it will annoy your husband, but is not, strictly speaking, rude. If it goes off on the subway, no one may notice it over the cacophony of other alarms going off — unless of course, it is the designated quiet car.

If at the library, the symphony or similar locations, Miss Manners is confident that the other patrons will be helpful in letting you know that they think you are being rude.

Diving to silence it when it does go off is, of course, important, but it would be much better to get in the habit of checking before entering spaces where some level of decorum is expected.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.