Unpleasant odors from ventilation from neighbors

Ventilation plays an important role in maintaining an optimal indoor microclimate. Its functions include proper provision of air exchange in the house, and if it is disturbed, this system lets you know about the malfunction by the appearance of unpleasant odors, sometimes of unknown origin. When air stagnates, and as a result, moisture accumulates, fungus appears on the walls of the home.

This primarily affects the bathroom, and if action is not taken in time, the problem will begin to spread to the rest of the house. When you are bothered by the smell in the apartment from the ventilation, you will find out how to remove it by reading the tips below.

Natural ventilation

In the “realm” of plastic, problems arise with natural ventilation.
Apartment buildings that were built before and are being built now are equipped with natural ventilation. Fresh air enters the premises through natural cracks in windows and doors, and leaves the premises through ventilation openings in the sanitary and bathroom rooms and kitchen. This is how it should happen if it works properly.

But, unfortunately, for a number of reasons, ventilation stops functioning and air exchange is disrupted. In order to understand why a non-smoking apartment starts to smell like cigarettes, you need to know what types of ventilation exist.

The intake of fresh air naturally and the same removal of exhaust air through ventilation ducts is called natural ventilation. Despite its obvious advantage - simplicity, there are significant disadvantages:

It works mainly in the cold season. This is due to the fact that air exchange occurs from the difference in temperature and atmospheric pressure outside and in the apartment. The larger it is, the more air enters the room, displacing the exhaust air.
It is impossible to achieve constant air exchange.
The air coming from the street is not cleaned of harmful impurities.
The incoming air is not filtered from noise.
Cooled air masses enter the room.

How to neutralize aroma from wallpaper?

It will not be enough to simply ventilate a heavily smoky room. Cigarette smoke is firmly absorbed into surrounding objects, and wallpaper suffers more from this.

If the wallpaper can withstand wet treatment, it is worth going over it with a sponge dipped in an aqueous solution of vinegar.

If the wallpaper is old, with a lingering smell of cigarettes, you can simply replace it with new ones by carrying out cosmetic repairs.

Forced ventilation

With supply and exhaust ventilation, the operating principle is based on process automation, which significantly improves its functionality.

In modern buildings, automatic ventilation is installed, solving problems with any foreign odors.

There is constant air exchange.
Air purified from dust and noise enters the apartment.
There is no reverse draft, so odors from neighbors through the hood do not bother you.
The air entering the room is heated by the air leaving it.

An example of such ventilation is a recuperator. But the disadvantages are expensive equipment and installation carried out by specialists. An important factor is energy dependence, which entails material costs.

Important! There is a system that does not require large material costs and allows you to solve some of the “punctures” of natural ventilation, improving its functionality. This is mixed ventilation (natural inflow and exhaust installation).

Where to complain and how to fight

If your neighbors stink, there are four authorities at your disposal to whom you can contact, complain and quickly solve your problem:

The district police officer receives not only individual complaints, but also collective ones. If you are tormented by the smell of tobacco in your apartment, a stinking sewer, or the stench from your neighbors’ pets, contact your local police officer directly. It doesn’t matter where exactly the unpleasant aroma is coming from - from neighbors above or below.
The prosecutor's office also accepts complaints from all categories of citizens, but it is better to make an appointment in advance.
Rospotrebnadzor – this body is responsible for monitoring violations of sanitary and epidemiological standards. By law, the department must give the violator a warning indicating all existing shortcomings and provide time to eliminate them. In case of disobedience, the intractable neighbor can be evicted through the court, but only if the apartment is rented.
Court. How else to radically get rid of a neighbor who is trampling on the rights and legitimate interests of other citizens, if not through eviction? The court is the last resort where they can help even in difficult situations.

Any problems can be solved. Don't panic and contact the competent authorities.

Causes of poor ventilation

In fact, there are not so many reasons why the ventilation system malfunctions. And the main thing is that most of them can be solved with small material and labor costs.

In addition to the main ventilation, additional channels can be installed

One of the main reasons today why there is a smell from the ventilation in a residential building is a violation of natural air exchange. This happens due to the installed metal-plastic windows that do not let air in from the street.
Contamination of the ventilation duct with soot, fatty deposits, bird residues, and construction waste.
Violation of the ventilation duct by one of the neighbors.
In winter, snow may clog into the ventilation duct, and due to temperature differences, it begins to melt and freeze again, forming ice.
A kitchen hood that is too powerful can absorb not only the fumes and odors of cooking food, but also interrupt the natural “escape” of air saturated with carbon dioxide from the ventilation holes in the sanitary rooms. The kitchen hood does not release it, and even tries to suck the smell from the ventilation from the neighbors, forming a reverse draft.
For residents of upper floors, a short (less than 6 meters) ventilation pipe may be a problem with ventilation. Its height does not allow the exhaust air from the entire riser to be “squeezed out” upward, and it finds a shorter path through the ventilation duct to those living on the top floor.

Recommendations

Expert advice will help you cope with cleaning the air from cigarette smell quickly and efficiently:

Ventilation is the easiest way to remove odors. If possible, it should always be used when cleaning.
For rooms where people smoke frequently, the best option would be to use special cleaning equipment - hoods, air conditioners, etc.
It may not always be possible to quickly remove the smell. For rooms with carpets, books, and upholstered furniture, removing the aroma from cigarettes will take a lot of time.
Do not use multiple recipes at the same time in an attempt to mask odors. The result can be an unpleasant cacophony of aromas.

You will find a lot of useful and important information about removing various unpleasant odors from objects and surfaces in this section.

Eliminating odor from kitchen ventilation

Today's market can offer the consumer several options for solving problems with reverse thrust. One of them would be to install an exhaust fan in the kitchen.

If general ventilation cannot cope in the kitchen, it is worth installing an additional fan

Before purchasing a device, you need to find out the required power. It is calculated by multiplying the volume of the kitchen by the air exchange rate. According to sanitary standards for kitchens with an area of 8 to 18 square meters. m, the air exchange rate is 6-12.

P = V x Kvo, where

V = S x h, room volume, cubic meters. m;

S – room area, sq. m;

h – room height, m;

Kvo – air exchange rate per hour

P – required power, cubic meters. m/h, for the kitchen - from 100 to 320 cubic meters. m/h.

When choosing a fan, pay attention to the presence of a protective insect net; easy to remove the front panel to clean the case; blades from adhering fat. You can install the exhaust fan on the wall yourself.

Prepare a through hole in the outer wall of the house.
Remove the lid and the exhaust ventilation grille, through which unpleasant odors will escape.
Apply the adhesive solution to the engine installation area.
Install the device and hold it for several minutes, pressing until the surfaces “grab.”
Connect to the mains.
Install a mosquito net and decorative cover.
Attach an exhaust ventilation grille to the front side.

Important! The fan design must contain a check valve. It will hold back cold air masses from the street when the fan is on.

We solve the problem with the help of a hood

Not every device you like in terms of design is suitable for a particular room. It is important to choose equipment that will perform its functions 100%.

Power calculation

This parameter for an apartment can be calculated using the formula: area × ceiling height × 12, where 12 is the established rate of air renewal in the kitchen in 1 hour.

Installation

If you follow the instructions correctly, you can install the hood yourself.

Start with the anti-return valve. Place it in front of the ventilation shaft, this will prevent air from flowing back.
Place the device body above the stove. If there is a cabinet hanging above it, make the necessary markings on it. Don't forget about the hole for the air duct inside the hanging box.
To connect the hood later, you need to install the corrugation and pull it through the slots in the cabinet.
Hang the furniture above the stove and seal the corrugated joints with sealant to avoid loss of power.
Install and secure the hood. This can be done by screwing the structure onto self-tapping screws.
Connect the corrugation to the ventilation channel and secure it.
If you connect the device directly, then simply connect the air duct to the ventilation.

Important: do not forget to clean the hood from time to time to protect your place of residence from short circuits. This may occur as a result of fat getting inside the device.

Ventilation in sanitary rooms

When a smell from the ventilation in the toilet enters the apartment, what should you do? This problem can be solved using an exhaust fan. This fan has a slightly different design than the one in the kitchen. It must be installed in an existing ventilation duct, instead of a ventilation grille. It has a simple design and easy installation.

Fan on the ventilation duct in the bathroom

For the toilet, it is better to choose a fan with a timer. It will allow you to remove unpleasant odors for some time after you leave it. The timer may not turn off the fan for almost half an hour. Like others, forced exhaust for a toilet is chosen based on power.

So, for toilet rooms with S = 2-8 sq. m, with an air exchange rate of 6 to 8 units per hour, similar power calculations are made as for a kitchen fan. The required power of such a device varies between 90-190 cubic meters. m/h.

Internal unpleasant odors in the apartment and ventilation balance

First, it is recommended to pay attention to the operation of the hood and conduct a simple experiment. Take a piece of newspaper and bring it to the grate in the kitchen or bathroom. When working correctly, the newspaper will be pressed against the grate by air.

Important! Never use fire to check the operation of the hood. This is dangerous and may cause a fire. There may be hot gases in the ventilation riser that will instantly ignite.

If the paper near the grille behaves motionless or deviates from it to the side, this means a malfunction of the system. This situation can occur if the design of the hood itself is broken or there is no necessary flow of clean street air.

Finding and eliminating the causes of odors

If the ventilation in the toilet stinks, then first of all you need to find out the reason. To do this, we will carry out the necessary actions:

Checking traction with a napkin

We go into the bathroom and bring a napkin to the ventilation grille. If it is attracted, then the work is going well, but if not, then you need to open the windows. Repeat the experiment. In such a situation, did the napkin get attracted to the grate? If so, then insufficient air flow creates a problem. If this does not happen, then there is a malfunction in the hood and you need to call a technician. The experiment is suitable for cool not hot weather;

Inspection of ventilation ducts

Any management company or city housing office, according to regulations, must inspect ventilation ducts at least once a year. If there is gas in the house, the test is carried out once every 6 months. This is done in summer and winter. If problems are detected, the gas is shut off until all defects are eliminated, as this is dangerous to the life of every resident. Remember, it is prohibited to independently maintain, improve or repair ventilation in an apartment building. All actions aimed at this matter must be approved by the utility services that serve your home;

Cleaning the ventilation system

To do this, you must contact the management company with a corresponding application;

Installation of the supply valve

After most people replaced wooden windows with sealed plastic double-glazed windows, natural ventilation has practically become obsolete. There is practically no air circulation when the windows are closed, which has a bad effect on the microclimate of the room and its ventilation. If you do not open the windows several times daily for ventilation, it is recommended to install a supply valve.

Window valves

You can combat the fact that the smell of sewage enters the apartment from the ventilation system not only by installing exhaust devices. Along with it, it is recommended to install supply valves on metal-plastic windows.

Window valve

The influx of fresh air, replacing the exhaust air that was removed by installed fans, can only fully come from outside. Windows are considered an excellent source of this supply. But given that the windows are sealed, air enters through the front door, that is, from the staircase. And this, in principle, is the same smell from the ventilation in the bathroom or toilet. That’s why Air Box Comfort ventilation valves are installed. Their advantage is that they are suitable for all profiles; do not affect the closing/opening of the window; do not require drilling of the profile, which violates the tightness of the window; presence of an air regulator.

How can you remove the smell of tobacco in “advanced” cases?

If the room is heavily smoky, sorbents and flavors will not help - in such cases, tobacco tar has already become deeply embedded in the surface of the floor, ceiling and walls, interior items and furniture. Only repairs with replacement of coverings will help, and some things will have to be thrown away.

To remove odors from upholstered furniture, you can use baking soda - to do this, apply a thin layer of it to the surface of the upholstery, leave for a day, and then remove with a vacuum cleaner. If you are unable to completely get rid of the smell the first time, the treatment will need to be repeated.

Carpets (especially long-pile carpets) that are heavily soiled with cigarette smoke also need treatment. You don't have to take them to the dry cleaner - there are also home remedies. To remove the smell, you can use the same baking soda, mixing it with shampoo that contains a strong fragrance. Proportion – 50 ml of shampoo to 1 teaspoon of soda. This mixture must be stirred until foam appears and applied to the surface of the carpet with a brush. Then the carpet should be rinsed with clean water and dried.

Easy installation in minutes

Mark the length of the valve on the window sash.
Cut off the seal in this place.
Insert the seal supplied with the valve.
Remove the protective film from the valve.
Install the valve onto the sash using the screws included in the kit.
After closing the window, mark the exact location of the valve relative to the frame.
Cut off the installed seal and install another one.

Partial replacement of the standard seal with narrower sections allows fresh air to enter the room. This device will not be able to completely correct problems in the ventilation system, but will become a barrier to various odors from the ventilation.

What to do if you can’t cope on your own (where and who to contact)

It happens that not a single piece of advice helps, the efforts made lead nowhere, and the issue of getting rid of unpleasant odors from the system remains valid. Then you need to call the service organization.

Write a statement indicating the reason for repairing the ventilation system. It is advisable to refer to regulatory documents. If this doesn't help, contact private companies. They will conduct an examination themselves and eliminate the shortcomings.

To summarize, we can say that unpleasant odors from ventilation are not the only problem that arises due to problems in the system. If the source of trouble is not identified in time, there is a risk of serious complications.

A person does not feel microparticles of mold, fungi and pathogenic microbes that enter the room from the ventilation duct and settle on the lungs. Sooner or later this will affect your health, causing not only allergies, but also other diseases. Take the problem with ventilation seriously and solve it not only by ventilating the premises. Be healthy!