Neighbours’ smoking really stinks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/09/2016 (3517 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

QUESTION: I would like to ask advice, if I may, with regards to a previous article Ways to keep the neighbour’s smoke out. I have moved into a rental flat on the third floor and the neighbours underneath have chain-smoked there for decades. It stinks. It’s in my flat, coming through the bathroom extractor fan and everywhere. Your article is about sealing off any areas of draught or leaks to try and block most of it out. And one suggestion is to politely ask the neighbours if they could smoke outside. Unfortunately, there is no outside to go as it is a flat with no balcony and one of them is housebound. And they are very touchy people, so not a good move, however nice.

The extractor fan makes the worst smell, but the landlord will not clear the duct as they say it cannot be accessed due to the design of the building. It’s an internal bathroom with no window, so I cannot block it off. Do the landlords have any legal obligation to seal the air leaks off in cases like this? I cannot find out.

I cannot afford to get specialists out to check for leaks and the housing associations are not interested. Is there anything I can do myself to block out this leakage? Any advice you may think of please? It is an old, stale nicotine build-up that no amount of masking is hiding for long. I don’t like plug-in air fresheners or Febreeze as I have sensitive lungs and allergies, so I only burn incense and the smell returns immediately.

— Miss Phoenix

Answer: There are many issues that can arise from living in multiple-family dwellings, least of which are odours or noise issues from other occupants of the building. I’m sure that I did indeed suggest talking to the offending tenants first, but they may not be able to easily change their habits to highly addictive cigarettes. The ultimate solution may be to look for alternative accommodations where this issue will not cause you major grief and discomfort.

Rarely is the answer to so troublesome a question this simple — move away! While this may sound rather crass or even skeptical, that may be the only way to solve your dilemma. You certainly can explore ways to try and seal off any connections or openings between your suites, but most are probably futile. Smoke from tobacco products contains numerous chemicals, tar and even soot that can adhere to surfaces in buildings for many years. You may be correct that the inside of the duct from your exhaust fan is coated with these offensive materials, which will smell every time there is a slight air pressure change in the building. You may have some success if you install charcoal filters over openings in the heating or ventilation systems, such as your exhaust fan. These may be difficult to locate, but modifying existing ones designed for other uses can work.

Buying an electronic air cleaner, with a HEPA filter, may also help to reduce the odours if used and cleaned continuously. You may be able to purchase a unit that has disposable charcoal filters, which can help to trap the particles associated with the smell. I’m not sure how well these will work, but they may be a relatively low-cost way to improve the situation, somewhat.

The other thing to take into consideration is whether the tenant or tenants previous to you also smoked. It is likely that they were also smokers and a popular place for their puffing was in the bathroom where the stinky exhaust fan is.

In that case, the smell may have less to do with the tenants below, but may be residue lining the fan or ducts. Also, if the previous tenants smoked, there could be a fair amount of materials on the walls and ceilings in your existing suite. The solution to that would be to wash all the walls and ceilings with TSP, then paint with special primers designed to seal stains and then finish with top coats of regular paint. That can help to seal in the stinky products of tobacco use and prevent them from being annoying. Regular cleaning of carpets or floor coverings may also help to partially alleviate the smell.

All of the above suggestions may help somewhat with the existing causes of the smoking smell, but may do little if the neighbours continue their habitual ways. If you cannot persuade them to smoke outside, or at least in a single room with open windows or other means of good ventilation, you may have to live with the problems. Contacting the landlord or other authorities will only help if they are willing to assist you in convincing the chain-smoking neighbours to change their ways.

There may be some other more drastic ways of minimizing the tobacco odours in your suite, such as using an ozone generator when you are not at home, but that may be costly and have other regulatory concerns. The only true solution to your smoking odour problem is to look for another apartment, preferably where the landlord has forbidden indoor smoking or where nearby neighbours are smoke-free.

Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the past president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors — Manitoba (cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.

trainedeye@iname.com