I live іn аn apartment. Besides turning οff thе air/heat οr shutting thе vents, hοw саn I avoid thе smell οf food аn cigarettes frοm οthеr people’s apartments coming іntο mine?
Follow John T’s advice, thе οthеr аnѕwеrѕ аrе аll lame.
Thіѕ іѕ a serious situation thаt needs tο bе corrected.
Call thе manager аnd tеll thеm уου саnnοt live wіth cig smoke іn уουr apt. thеу саn install a mechanism іn уουr vent thаt wіll block frοm thе οthеr apts. Bυt lіkе John ѕаіd, іt’s a design flaw thаt іѕ nοt proper building specs. Ultimately уου саn take іt up wіth thе building dept. bυt thаt саn gеt really nasty ѕο gο easy wіth thіѕ аррrοасh. Or іf уου dο, hаνе a back up apt tο mονе tο!!
BURN YOUR NEIGHBORS HOUSE!
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It is truly almost impossible without massive construction in your home to seal it from the others. You might be stuck with trying to mask it with another more pleasant scent like air fresheners or candles. A good ozone-type air cleaner works well too but if your nose is sensitive, you’ll still smell it a bit.
Here in Toronto, Canada; there is discussion of extending our ‘no smoking in public places’ policy to include apartments. There are a lot of folks experiencing what you are and unfortunately the age or build-type doesn’t appear to have much influence on the problem. The only solution is sealing and separating the air system and making each unit "independant" during the build process. Not inexpensive and not a solution for most at this time. (In my humble opinion) Your best and safest bet for an inexpensive fix is a good air cleaner that does the ozone thing too. Check eBay for example, I got one for $25.00 that cleans the air in a 2600 square foot house. My house is half that so this little puppy works dynamite… my son is a budding chef (so you can imagine the experiments and "scents") but this cleaner does it’s job within an hour or so to eliminate the odours from inventive cooking… It’s about 5" round and hums away fairly quietly behind the living room sofa, on the floor. Good luck with your quest!
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Make sure you install a strip so smells cannot get in under your door. Caulking all open seems around the windows and doors should help too.
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I would suggest getting alot of candles and glade plug-ins.
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Buy activated carbon to kill the smells coming into your house… or you may prefer to kill your neighbours… your choice
BTW, never ever light candles where you don’t have windows open, oxygen gone means you are goner too.
Burning candles with essential oils kill staph and E. coli bacteria, doesn’t kill smells.
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contact the apt management co. it sound like the ventatation systems are only going into the common attic and not to the outside via roof vents. I am sure if you have the problem then the other apts have the same also, check with them. I dont know how old the apts are but i see this as a common error by the inspection as well as the firewalls in the attic are not installed or damaged during building
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cook oily and greasy food
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you won’t smell theirs
I would use a sealent around the windows and doors. An easy way to do this is put the sealent on and put a strip of cling film over it and shut the window or door on it. When the sealent is set, open the window and the cling film can easily be taken off and close the window again.
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Well you can use a air filtration system they come in a wide range of price and you can get one to fit the size room you have. These are also a good idea to filter out any other allergens that may be in you apt. Also I was a smoker… quit 3 months now….so I am always on the look out for anything to cover the smell of smoke… I found over the years that any thing with a citrus fragrance is the most effective this also mask the smell of garlic. So you can mask the smells with air freshener.
I would also contact my apt manger to see if there is anything they are willing to do about the ventilation problem.
good luck with you smelly problem!
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Follow John T’s advice, the other answers are all lame.
This is a serious situation that needs to be corrected.
Call the manager and tell them you cannot live with cig smoke in your apt. they can install a mechanism in your vent that will block from the other apts. But like John said, it’s a design flaw that is not proper building specs. Ultimately you can take it up with the building dept. but that can get really nasty so go easy with this approach. Or if you do, have a back up apt to move to!!
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Candles if you can stand them. Get some nice fragranced lead free candles which will soak up all odors and especially smoke. This should help. Or, you could saute a small pan of onions and a few cloves of garlic to give your place a nice tuscan aroma.
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move
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Seal around every crack possible. Around plumbing, heating and cooling, etc. Weatherstrip doors. I saw on a TV show the other night, this couple was actually ordered to stop smoking inside their own townhouse (I’m not a smoker, but I still thought that was a little extreme) because the smell permiated the entire building. All the neighbors had first tried using different sealants around all the plumbing and stuff.
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turn on your air system
like fans
so they can suck some of the smoke smell out
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