Speak To Building Management About Odour
Speak To Building Management About Odour
In consultation with the building management:
- Try to identify and eliminate the source of the odour
Cooking and tobacco smoke odours can often be easily traced back to other apartments or common areas. Objectionable odours originating from other apartments may be resolved, with the help of the property manager, by coming to an agreement with the occupants to stop, or limit, the odour causing activity.
The presence of car exhaust odours can be a sign that the parking garage or the parking garage vestibule ventilation systems are not working properly. The intake grille for the building’s corridor air supply could be too close to street level or the outlet for the parking garage exhaust system.
Garbage odours may come from garbage chutes, garbage chute access rooms on each floor level and the compactor/dumpster room at the base of the chute. Garbage odours may be resolved by ensuring that the gaskets on garbage room doors and the chute hatchways are in good condition and the doors and hatches seal tightly when closed. Keeping the garbage rooms, chute and compactor clean and ensuring the compactor room is well ventilated can also help. - Ensure the building ventilation systems are operating correctly
Confirm with building management that the building’s corridor air supply system is operational—particularly at the times when the odours of concern are being produced. If the building has a central exhaust fan for the kitchens and bathrooms, ensure that it is working properly as well. - Ensure the areas or apartments where the odours are being produced have bathroom and kitchen fans that work
If you cannot stop the odours from being produced, as is often the case with smoking and cooking, try to arrange for more diligent or continuous use of in-suite exhaust fans (if installed) in the apartment where the odours are being produced. This will help to contain odours. The property manager will have to ensure that the apartment’s exhaust fans work and are not so noisy that they will not be used. Increased fan use can be achieved through the installation of timers or occupancy sensors that can activate the in-suite fans as required. - Investigate the possibility of having the apartment where the odour is being produced sealed as previously mentioned
It may be possible, with the support of the property manager, to have the odour producing apartment’s corridor door sealed with new weatherstripping. The other in-suite sealing measures will be too intrusive to be imposed on others. Note: This is a trial and error measure as the weatherstripping may adversely affect the indoor environment of the apartment. - Investigate the possibility of pressurizing your apartment
You can pressurize your apartment by introducing outdoor air directly into your apartment with a small ventilation unit. This will not only provide you with all the fresh air you need, but can also pressurize your apartment and prevent air leaking in from neighbouring apartments or common areas. It should be noted that this is one of the more expensive and intrusive options, as a ventilation unit will have to be purchased and installed. A hole will have to be made through the exterior wall or a portion of an existing window area for the outdoor air duct.
The ventilation unit will require space in your apartment and it could be relatively noisy to operate unless you take care to find a fan with a sound rating below 1 sone. Consideration will also have to be given to heating the outdoor air in the winter, or introducing it to your apartment in such a way that does not cause comfort problems.
Note: Overly pressurizing an apartment can force warm, moist indoor air into the exterior building envelope. This can cause problems with the structure, insulation and cladding systems.
Additionally, windows and balcony doors may experience problems as frost may form on them. Also, pressurizing your apartment may force your odours into your neighbours’ apartments— something they may find objectionable.
Despite these concerns, the installation of a ventilation unit can be very effective in preventing odours from entering your apartment and improving indoor air quality. This step will require the expertise of a qualified ventilation contractor to properly determine the capacity of the unit (i.e. how much air will it have to bring into your apartment), and the installation details required for safe, and effective operation. There is a trial and error element to this measure. Should you install a ventilation system to pressurize your apartment, you and the property management must watch for warning signs such as the appearance of efflorescence (irregular white stains) on brick walls, the formation of icicles below weephole soffits or other penetrations in the cladding, the appearance of siding stain or paint problems, the deterioration of paint and drywall around windows, and the presence of musty smells. If any or all of these problems occur after the installation of a pressurizing fan in your apartment, discontinue its use until an investigation of the problems can be conducted and the source of the problem identified.
In summary…
Understanding how and why air transfer occurs will help you resolve odour problems in your unit. Sometimes, working with the building management and the other occupants in the building will help resolve the problem with little cost or effort. Other times, measures, such as those suggested in this guide, may be necessary. The highly varied nature of apartment buildings means that a trial and error approach must be taken so that, ultimately, the problem is resolved.
Contact your REALTOR at Coldwell Banker Vantage Realty for more tips and advice on what you can do to reduce odour in your home.
Follow