I have an apartment in a building dating from the 1920s. I’m a nonsmoker, but some nights I come home and wonder, Who has been smoking cigarettes in here all day? On days like these the hallway has a similar odor, but it seems to be worse in my place.
Anyone have any experience troubleshooting something like this? Is it coming from the hallway, the apartment below, or somewhere else? What would you do first…
* weatherstrip the apartment door to the hallway?
* seal around the steam pipe risers? with expanding foam? assuming that steam is 212 degrees, will i replace the cigarette odor with smoldering foam odor?
* seal the flue from the decorative fireplace?
Any theories or past experience much appreciated.
Replies
Weatherstripping the door should help. If the gap around the pipe isn't too big, fine steel wool packed in there might work. But smokers directly below you are going to be a problem, regardless; such is life in apartment buildings. Check the battery in your smoke alarm!
Bud, i'm one of those people who believe only cowards cook on "low", plus i have seven cats and dogs with the run of the joint. My place can get pretty gamey in short order, but i run air over the fabric freshener stuff (Febreze is one brand, buy it in the refill bottle instead of the expensive spray bottle) and it neutralizes the odors. I once filled my house with results of a failed garbanzo bean experiment for which smoke removal specialists wanted to charge me over a grand. Sticker shock forced me to get creative and it worked like a charm.
How i do it is to vent my dryer over a bucket of the stuff hanging on the wall behind, but i would think a bowl full of neutralizer with a fan wafting across the top would do the trick. what i ike aobut it is that it doesn't cover up the smell with something more obnoxious, but neutralizes it.
Another thought would be some sort of charcoal filter over any heating or cooling vents that connect to other apts.
A long time ago I worked in a bar. If the place was closed for a day of two it would have a dank, stale-smoke smell. The walls, woodwork and ceiling tiles were saturated in tobacco smoke.
We set about washing everything we could with a hot solution of trisodium phosphate (TSP). It cut the nicotine and tar deposits quite well. While the smell never went away, it was continually being renewed by the customers, it was greatly reduced.
If you can find one you might try an ozone machine. Try rental companies and renovation contractors. You can't use the commercial models when your home as ozone is toxic in large amounts but you could set it and go to work or stay with a friend a day or two. I have seen them do wonders.
If this is an outside source weatherstripping and sealing holes may be your only path. good luck.