⦠Exactly my situation, Bob. Second-hand tobacco smoke is not in and of itself a nuisance. And wouldnât you know? I am going to do that next, or take them off and fill in the cracks or sprinkle active charcoal in the space under the drywall. If you ask a person with kindness and respect to move while they are smoking, 9/10 times I bet they’ll happily move for you ð. Ad Choices, I'm Not a Smoker, but My Neighbors AreâHere's What I Did About It. But he recommends taking a gentle tack the first time around â some people arenât aware the fine particles in smoke aggravate asthma. We are seeking your advice in relation to anything we can do or anyone we can contact to help us eliminate the smell of smoke coming from next door into ⦠File charges in court and also pursue it with Home Owners Association if you have one. The American Lung Association offers several tips to stop your exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke cannot be controlled by ventilation, air cleaning, or the separation of smokers from nonsmokers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. If you are on good terms with your neighbours, they may let you check their unit and make the seal on their end. Good luck – I wish I had more help to offer you. In the evening, when I enter my toddlerâs bedroom, I can smell marijuana. I have been in the back yard and had to go in the house when they start smoking because their 2nd hand rolls over the fence into our patio in some cases but we have watched it literaly travel past the A/C unit, I would love to figure out how to add a filter to it to at least help, Same problem here, except we don’t even turn on the A/C and the smoke is still getting in. I also hate cigarette smoke. English says according to Washington state law, if youâre bothered by the smoke for any reason, your neighbor has to put the fire out. I live at Village at the Lake apartments in Spring Lake, NC. People suck. Our neighbors smoke in their back yard and when our A/C unit kicks on our house becomes inidated with second hand smoke. No one cares! Have you figured out a way to control this? my neighbor smokes on her balcony, right below me. You have a right to smoke but my family and I also have a right to not smoke. As summer arrived and the heat rose, airing out my sweaty gear inside the house became pretty gross. You could also try consulting a professional HVAC company about better filtering of the air before it is recirculated â more enlightened condo boards may consider this if you do the legwork. Write them letter, keeping copies for yourself of course, and then hire a lawyer. The neighbor sits on his ground floor balcony. The primary issue is when neighbors smoke inside their condo, which often happens during the bitter months of the year when Toronto balconies are covered in snow. The situation is changing, however, and non-smokers bothered by their neighbors' smoking may find that they can now take action. As a last resort, you can try to get the courts on your side by suing your neighbor for private nuisance. Remember that there may be more than one point of entry: in our case blocking off one gap in the basement helped, but also forced the smoke up behind the drywall to the second floor, where it came in from the electrical outlets and the baseboards. Certainly, asking them to not smoke because it is bothering you will probably sound rude even if you are polite when you approach them. Smoke can enter from outside in a number of ways: If the smoke is coming through shared HVAC, your only option may be a high-powered air filter, or moving. I have this problem, have asthma and have slept in my car. Idiot man. I am severely allergic to such things as cigarette smoke. Step 3. My neighbors made their patio on the side of their house, next to my bedroom and bathroom, 20 ft. away, into their living room. I hate to say it, but you may want to consider moving, and tell the landlord why. So inconsiderate. âTis true! I have talked to renter, owner & homeowners association to complain about secondhand smoke entering my unit through the air vents. Effective-ish. smoke from premises occupied by the armed forces or visiting forces; How smoke complaints are assessed. My neighbor is taking full advantage of this new freedom. It's really annoying when you're a non-smoker or a light smoker and your neighbor downstairs in ⦠If you're not in a smoke-free building there is no law prohibiting your neighbor from smoking in his own apartment. When I complained to the landlady, she slapped me with a termination threat, “for my health.” Horrible. If the smoke that disturbs you comes from someone who rents, find out if the rental agreement contains a no-smoking clause; these clauses are becoming more common. No. How can I filter or stop the contaminated air? As far as I was concerned, this condo was a perfect fit for me, a single freelancer who works from home. But the law is on your side, in smaller dwellings you can stop a tenant from smoking. Some floors (and walls) can be sealed with wood glue… the white stuff can be diluted, and then immediately wiped off after it impregnates…. This place could have been insulated better. Architectural Digest may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. July 19, 2013. I first saw the space in August, and instantly fell in love with the private balcony off the third-floor room that would become my office. smoking (istockphoto) By Benny L. Kass. The only fail-proof solution to this problem is for buildings to go entirely smokefree, either by a policy voluntarily adopted by building management or by local ordinance. I canât say how effective that was in making the stoner smell go away, but I certainly limited my time out there, which limited how much I had to smell it. It’s probably not something you want to spend money on if you are renting. That’s helped some. The lower party smokes in the basement and the 2nd hand smokes stinks up may apartment through the furnace. Copyright © 2018 by Jennifer Priest. You’ll end up doing this many, many times if your situation is anything like ours. I live in the upper apartment of a two family house. Seriously, smokers are some of the most selfish people on earth.. Just wait till October 17th 2018 in Canada when cannabis becomes legal and everyone goes ape shit over that smell when people start burning in their apartments. What kind of losers smoke anyway in 2017. Like, if they suggested a little thingie I could install on the door to make it seal better, I would do that. I have wood floors in an pre-war apartment where smoke is getting in sometimes pretty heavy. Most of the butts end up in our garden too, either thrown over or pushed under fence, which I have blocked, when she is on school run! Write a couple letters, then file a breach of warranty cause of action. This time, they mixed with the citronella scent, which confused both me and the mosquitoes. The smoke wafts gently over to my house which is approximately 100 feet away. If you look online under businesses that seal air-leaks in houses for energy efficiency, they sell all kinds of tools that deal with this. Put some noise absorbing material in there too while you’re at it. She is recommending a two step filter system; HEPA is just one of the filters. A second-hand lesson in dealing with a smoking neighbor. Until laws change, your answer will be found in your tool kit. I write my own stuff, so you should too! I wouldn’t lump all smokers in the same group, don’t forget they are *people* first.. A lot of People are selfish.. Smoking in ⦠The management SUCKS. I do, however, mean it when I say that I canât work in a skunky haze of fumes, even if the smoker has a legit need to smoke it. I nested hard indoors and created a home office I loved. she might as well just come up to my place and put her feet up and have a coffee with her smoke. But I could be wrong. Again, that is a breach of warranty. Lol she said carbon for the cigarette smoke hepa for the other impurities in the air. In some people, they can even lead to stroke. It’ll be chaos! I rent the 2nd floor of a 2 family house and i will now need to remove the A/C and keep my windows shut. Enforce a No-Smoking Lease. Yes its an irritant to all…but some like me affects my breathing – I have asthma and it cause major wheezing. If the gap is larger, like missing pieces of insulation or drywall, finishing the job the builder should have done may be necessary. What rights do homeowners have? Photo by feifeilee.. Dear Sad with Smoke, We feel your pain. I got a little carried away at the dollar store, though, so it ended up looking like I was having a séance. As most nonsmokers know, itâs hard to appreciate someone elseâs smoking habit. Sealing Your Apartment Block the gaps under your door with a door sweep or draft guard. Downside: The combination of fan noise and outside traffic gave my balcony the ambience of an airport runway. will carpet with floor coving underneath stop these fumes? …..even us NON SMOKERS!!! After a long winter, though, I was thrilled to fling open my windows and balcony doors for some fresh spring air. Thatâs how I found myself spending the first few weeks of spring tackling what became my most challenging home-improvement project to date: getting my neighbors' smoke out of my home. Where I live, medicinal marijuana is legal, so it was only fair to assume that what these guys were smoking was medicinal. What kind of covering (rubber/plastic?) © 2021 Condé Nast. After experiencing the IQ Air filter in action, we decided not to trust our health to cheaper filters that donât work: the air purifier market is saturated with ineffective crap (in the words of my husband, who did the research). The IQ Air was expensive but worth it: the air in our home doesnât get that stale quality to it anymore, and we have not smelt any smoke for a few weeks (read about my product review policy here). undiluted ends up being stronger than wood. We’ve asked the neighbor to open a window, but he basically told us that it wasn’t his problem and we were SOL. Finding the gaps is really hard, so I sympathize! Trust me, as soon as you say breach of warranty they will either fix it, or if they don’t, they will have to pay for your move, back rent, etc. We have been here 19 years, smokers first one 2 years and current 3 years. If it is, you can complain to the board or HOA about the smoking. Many smokers can be quite defensive these days because of the increasing restrictions on smoking in public places, and because of the way some non-smokers behave. Secondhand smoke seeping into apartments or condominiums from neighboring units poses both a health risk and a significant nuisance. We live in a smoke-free townhouse, and everyone smokes! ⢠Once you find the entry points of the secondhand smoke, seal the gaps. The 30 foot high cedar hedge between us does nothing to stop the smoke. I hope I could open your eyes about some smokers, as they aren’t all bad… they’re just addicted. My neighbors moved out soon after. None of them had happy endings, thoughâso why should I risk that, either? We’ve sealed around the door to our HVAC unit and are installing active charcoal filters in the vents. I wouldn't lump all smokers in the same group, don't forget they are *people* first.. A lot of People are…. If the smoke is coming through all the individual floor boards, there’s no way to fill them all except rebuilding the floor. Carpet won’t prevent the smell coming through, but I doubt floors are the problem. for shared plumbing or electrical systems), Through shared HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) between units, Adding a fence or increasing the height of the fence between you and your neighbour to alter the airflow path, and allowing more time for smoke to dissipate, Positioning a large fan the blow air out a window that the smoke would otherwise come in. That specific person isn’t clean and is a selfish man.. Neighbors smoke around the clock 24/7 in their backyard and our home seems to constantly suck the outside air in. There is more privacy in public restroom. One afternoon, when I had the windows open, I got to thinking about airflow. The web is full of advice. The smell of cigarette smoke in my kitchen used to be unbearable, but I haven't smelled it at all since I started using the air filter, which was about six months ago.- $$$ You will have to move, but they will pay for it and you can hopefully find a smoke free building to live in. A private nuisance is something that interferes ⦠Keep in mind that even the best filter wonât be able to pull air up or downstairs, so you may need one for every floor. Pull up the floor, have the subfloor redone. I found a solution to dealing with 2nd hand smoke. Cannot water plants without her being outside even late at night and I use a torch, must get outside light fixed! Still bad advice. PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS The list of restrictions is often long, but this is a good time to look through it to see if smoking is prohibited. In an apt situation I don't understand why its such an inconvenience to smoke on the sidewalk. When he smokes in his backyard, the smoke drifts towards my house. Garden mums (Chrysanthemum morifolium or ⦠How To Remove Cigarette Smoke Coming From Neighbor's Apartment. Hereâs how weâve been tackling the problem. About a year ago, I started noticing that we had a lot of smoke coming in to our home, but it became worse in the past few months. I didnât mean to judge. I opened my balcony door and placed a square window fan facing outward, so that it would draw air from inside the house and blow it out. Smoke free places are much more appealing to buyers. The U.S. You’ll make sure you VOTE them out next term or election and get someone in there WHO will make smoke free zones. In cases where the smoke is coming in from outside, you can try: In one case that I read about, the smoke was entering a home through the bathroom steam vent; in that case the owner simply kept it running so the air was always exiting the room. If you “sniff around” and become very sure that the floors are somehow the problem you’re probably still out of luck, unfortunately. Any help would be appreciated! There's a hole in the wall (under the pipes) and it's windy. Thatâs how I found myself spending the first few weeks of spring tackling what became my most challenging home-improvement project to date: getting my neighbors' smoke out of my home. In our situation, we got lucky, and were able to pretty much block off the sources of smoke. That is what you pay for. Place an ozone ionizer in your home. Put radio or tv near window and blast it to legal limits..find out your township noise laws…like I did. For electrical outlets, you can try vapour barrier electrical outlets. ⢠First, try to locate the entry point (s) of the secondhand smoke. * I called my plumber, and his only solution was to duct tape the overflow holes and keep the drain stoppers closed unless I was actually running the water. Perhaps theyâd say the same about my hockey habit. I have no problem with my neighbors smoking on their premisis as its not against the law ( i wish it was) its just that my daughter and I are both severely allergic to smoke. Although we put a towel to block the hole, it's still an issue. To deal with the odour of cigarette smoke, a filter needs a means to trap VOCs (volatile organic compounds) â most commonly an activated carbon filter – and a HEPA filter to deal with particulate matter. Trust me. I guess we share air through the metal indoor frames in the bathrooms. ), but it no longer felt like I was having a séance an pre-war apartment where smoke is and... 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