Why is there an unpleasant odor from the ventilation and how to eliminate it?

The role of the ventilation system in the room is to clean the air in it, taking place by removing contaminated air masses and accessing clean ones. But it so happens that there is a smell from the ventilation and instead of removing dirty air, the ventilation duct is its source. We will understand why such a problem arises, what to do in the current situation, how to get rid of the smell.

Air exhaust system device

Before analyzing why there is an unpleasant smell from ventilation and how to deal with it, you should at least have a basic understanding of how the ventilation system of the entire building looks. Depending on the structural features of the building (especially on the number of storeys and the number of ventilated rooms), the ventilation system can be arranged in one of two main ways.

1. With the connection of each ventilation duct to one common. Moreover, for ventilation with normal draft, this connection should not take place immediately, but at the end of the next floor or through the floor.
2. With individual channels. In this case, each ventilation hole has its own channel and passes right up to the ventilation outlet to the street. An intra-apartment combination of channels (for example, a bathroom and a toilet) is allowed.

What smells of ventilation?

Why does the smell of smoking appear from the air vent or do other unpleasant odors arise? There are several reasons. But first of all, you need to understand whether ventilation is really to blame.

In the normal state, the ventilation duct draws air from the room, i.e., draft is present in it. It is very easy to verify its availability.

• A burning candle or lighter is brought to the ventilation - if the flame pulls noticeably towards the ventilation hole, then everything is fine. If it remains vertical or tilts away from the ventilation - the channel is clogged with something, it needs to be cleaned.
• A variation of the previous method is a smoldering cigarette. Normally, you should not smell tobacco, but if it seems that there is a smell of smoking from the ventilation, then something is wrong with it.
• A sheet of plain paper is applied to the ventilation grill. If he holds on - everything is in order, falls - the channel needs to be cleaned.

Let us consider in more detail the factors causing the appearance of a smell from ventilation.

Clogged ventilation duct

A clogged ventilation duct most often provokes the appearance of unpleasant odors (and the smell of smoking from neighbors' apartments, among them). This can happen, for example, due to the partial collapse of its walls or the ingress of some foreign object. The most unpleasant thing is if it turns out to be not just rubbish, but an animal, such as a cat or a bird. They have little chance to get out on their own, and people, too, will not always immediately realize that some kind of living creature was in the ventilation. Accordingly, these animals often die there, begin to decompose. The result is obvious - not just unpleasant, but disgusting odors from the ventilation.

It is possible to solve the problem of a clogged channel on your own only if the blockage is near the ventilation hole of the apartment. Then it will be possible to get to it and eliminate it with a brush or flexible cable, if you just remove the grille.In other cases, do not experiment - you need to contact specialists.

Bad location of the apartment

If there is no attic in the building, and a low exhaust pipe is installed on the roof for exhaust ventilation, dirty air from the street and the smell of smoke from the windows and balconies of the nearest neighbors can easily get into the ventilation ducts of a pair of upper floors. Especially often this problem occurs in places with a strong gusty wind, when the air is forced into the air with force.

Another possible reason for the appearance of an unpleasant smell among the inhabitants of a pair of upper floors is a violation in the design of the ventilation system in the house. Normally, even if a common ventilation duct is present in the building, it is undesirable to bring individual ventilation channels from the last or two last floors, since a normal level of air draft cannot be guaranteed. This means that their own dirty air will not be properly removed from the room, in addition, air from below can get into it. But, alas, all the necessary standards are not always observed during construction, so such errors sometimes occur.

In both cases, to make sure that the smell of smoking from neighboring houses and other aromas no longer bother, you can install a device for forced air removal.

Violation of the integrity of the building structures

Oddly enough, sometimes it can only seem that it smells unpleasantly from the ventilation, and the smell of a smoke from the nearest apartment also appears from there. In this case, aromas from neighbors through the wall or from the technical premises of the building are actually heard through cracks in the walls or ceilings located near the ventilation hole. It is easy to cope with such a reason for the appearance of a smell - it is enough to carefully examine all the structures of the room and tightly close up the detected extraneous holes.

Lack of ventilation duct

Rarely, but it still happens that the ventilation duct may be absent altogether or end up in a dead end due to a mistake of designers or builders. More often, he can become a victim of illegal redevelopment in one of the apartments above, especially if its cross section allows you to significantly increase the area of ​​the room. The channel is blocked at the top and bottom, and in a vacant niche, for example, a small cabinet or a refrigerator is installed.

You can independently diagnose such a problem if you carefully examine the kitchen, bathroom and bathrooms of all the neighbors above. If they refuse to eliminate the redevelopment discovered or even refuse to inspect the apartment, then it is necessary to contact the public utilities. Then the neighbors will not only have to remove alterations in their own apartment at their own expense, but also, most likely, part with a certain amount of money for a fine.

Powerful fan in the neighbors

Initially, the ventilation system of apartment buildings is designed for natural air exchange. Installing devices for forced air removal in the room may interfere with its proper functioning and redirect the flow of air coming through the ventilation, as a result of which the apartment may smell from neighbors. It is unlikely that this will happen from a low-power and rarely turned on fan in the toilet, but from a powerful exhaust ventilation in the kitchen - quite.

There are two possible solutions to the problem. The first is to propose to neighbors to replace their productive air exhaust equipment with a weaker one, or at least use it less often. The second is to install the device for forced air removal yourself. Then the smell of smoking from neighboring apartments will definitely not bother anymore.

Insufficient air supply

Even with perfectly working exhaust ventilation in the kitchen and in the bathroom, an unpleasant odor can sometimes remain. This is due to the lack of fresh air from the outside.There is no air supply - it cannot be removed through the ventilation of the house.

A few decades ago, this problem did not arise at all, since most people had wooden windows and doors in their houses. In them, even with the initially perfect fit of the elements over time, cracks and holes appeared due to the swelling or drying of the wood, which ensured an air flow even with the shutters closed. Modern materials make it possible to tightly adjoin elements of window or door blocks. There are many advantages, but the air supply to the room from the outside is minimal.

The problem can be solved by airing the apartment more often or by installing a forced air supply system outside the supply ventilation system in the toilet and kitchen.

Why ventilation

Some solve the problem of smells in the kitchen and in the bathroom from the ventilation radically - tightly lay it. The reasoning of such people is to open the window for a short while from smells. It is important to understand that ventilation is not only the removal of aromas, for example, from burnt food or fresh oil paint during repairs.

Modern building materials and technologies are such that the rooms are tight enough; air exchange through cracks or walls, floors and ceilings themselves is negligible.

And stagnation of air is several problems at once.

1. An increased concentration of pathogenic flora (bacteria, viruses), increasing during the period of illness of one of the residents.
2. High humidity. Its consequences are the development of mold, decay of things, the musty smell in the bathroom and toilet.
3. The high content of a number of allergens, in particular dust, and when living in a pet apartment - their wool.
4. If a smoker lives nearby - the smell of smoking from the entrance, not only annoying, but also leading to cardiopulmonary diseases.
5. Oxygen deficiency and an excess of carbon dioxide. In the short term, it can cause headaches, dizziness, and weakness. With long-term exposure, serious diseases of the heart and lung systems, brain disorders, anemia, intoxication of the body, hypoxia of organs and tissues are possible.

All this is too serious a fee for not wanting to deal with ventilation problems in the toilet and kitchen.

Supply ventilation problems

As a rule, the unpleasant odor from the ventilation supplying air to the room also arises due to clogged, collapsed or improperly designed ventilation ducts. Ways to solve problems are similar - repair, cleaning, elimination of structural violations.

But a few more are added to the factors described above. Firstly, there may be problems with the filters that clean the air entering the room. They can be either initially insufficiently powerful to remove all impurities present in the air, or lose their life over time after a long operating time. Solution: in time to clean the filters from accumulated contaminants or change them, select them correctly.

Also, a sharp increase in the pollution of the outside air can become the cause. A wide highway laid under the windows; neighbors who brought the hood over their stove into the window; the smell of a smoke from the window of a smoker who has settled nearby; a cafe, a shop, or another institution that has arranged an outlet shaft for its ventilation nearby, there can be many factors. In such a situation, you will have to move the inlet of your blow-in ventilation, install more powerful filters for cleaning or deal with neighbors and organizations that have arranged troubles. Of course, you won’t be saved from the smells of gas pollution in this way, but it may be possible to oblige the company to make changes to their ventilation system.

Who to contact?

In an apartment building, be it Stalin, Khrushchev, or a new modern house, ventilation ducts are common property.So, the responsibility for their repair and maintenance lies with the operating organization, that is, the management company. Accordingly, you need to contact them.

The exception is when the ventilation problem was the result of illegal redevelopment in one of the apartments. In this situation, the owners of this property are required to eliminate the consequences at their own expense. But here it is advisable to start by contacting the management company. As a rule, they take on the interaction with the offending residents. In a private or non-residential building or in an apartment building managed by the HOA, numerous private companies providing this type of service will come to the rescue.

To summarize

The main reasons for the appearance of an unpleasant odor from the ventilation is a violation of the integrity of the air-venting channel or the ingress of foreign objects there. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that they will be able to cope with all these problems on their own - the best solution is to turn to specialists who can correctly assess the situation and know exactly how to eliminate the smell from the ventilation.