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Getting rid of cigarette smoke smell?

I am not sure which board to post this on, but here it goes....

My husband and I rent and live in half of a duplex. The people who rent the other half smoke in their home. My husband and I are not smokers and the smell of smoke really bothers me. The basement of the home is a shared space with our furnaces located in the basement. I believe that the cold air return is bringing air from inside our living space and from inside theirs and it gets mixed together in the basement and returned through the furnace.

Does anyone have any tips on how to prevent this or suggestions for a odor/smoke blocking furnace filter? I burn candles when I am home but I hate that all of our clothes and furniture is starting to smell like smoke! Help!

~May 21,2011~

Re: Getting rid of cigarette smoke smell?

  • Honestly I would call the landlord and tell them about the problem.  No amount of candles or fabreeze will stop the problem.  You could temporarily look into some quality air filters for the furnace and any air return vents but that's not really going to solve the problem.

    Edited to correct a word... stupid autocorrect

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  • - Second with contacting landlord - in a community living situation I would think that smoking inside would be illegal (I know it probably isn't but it should be). Why should you be exposed to cancer causing properties?

    - You can try to buy filters for the heating/cooling system to help with the situation but it won't cure it. You can buy an air purifier (ones that really work will run you a grand) 

    - Start looking to move

    Sorry! 

  • Thanks for the replies!

    I want to contact the landlord, but I also want to have ground to stand on. My husband says that he can't smell it (he apparently has a bad sense of smell). The lease does not say we can't smoke in the house. Do I still have grounds to complain?

    ~May 21,2011~
  • imagesoozy87:

    Thanks for the replies!

    I want to contact the landlord, but I also want to have ground to stand on. My husband says that he can't smell it (he apparently has a bad sense of smell). The lease does not say we can't smoke in the house. Do I still have grounds to complain?

    You have grounds to complain, but the landlord may not be able to resolve the situation until your neighbor's lease it up.

  • imagesoozy87:

    Thanks for the replies!

    I want to contact the landlord, but I also want to have ground to stand on. My husband says that he can't smell it (he apparently has a bad sense of smell). The lease does not say we can't smoke in the house. Do I still have grounds to complain?

    Google tenant laws + your state.  You have rights as a tenant and the landlord probably has to comply with state health codes.  I'm not sure what qualifies but it would be good to educate yourself on your rights.  Just becuase it doesn't specifically say you can't smoke in the duplex doesn't mean they can and if the smoke is coming into your part of the unit then it's affecting your living conditions.  Your lease probably doesn't specifiy that you can't have a meth lab in there either but that's unsafe :)

    After researching your rights I would discuss with the landlord calmly.  There's nothing wrong with bringing it to his attention and if your husband can't smell it, it doesn't mean there isn't a problem. 

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  • since it is a duplex (a legal) and not an illigal basement suite....shouldn't the heaters/return airs be comepletely seperate? They should not even be the same area in a basement, there needs to be walls between them and seprate vents to outside. We are in the process of building a suite in our basement to rent out and the contracter said that the suite must have completely seperate venting and cant even come out too close together outside. If your landlord doesnt listen to you and correct it, get a contractor or inspector to look at it, it sounds like it might be an illigal set up which the landlord would have to  correct if its assesed by an inspector. (but know this will prolly be 500$ to get looked at, if its not 500$+ of an issue to you...move)
  • I was an apartment manager in CA for a while.  In a community living situation it is illegal to smoke inside the unit as they share venting sytems and walls and that is a health risk.  However we could not stop anyone from smoking on their porch with the front door wide open. Good Luck!

    imageimageimage
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  • Thanks everyone for your imput. I am hoping that it doesn't get worse as time goes on. The neighbor is married to an older man who has some health problems so I don't know why she feels the need to smoke around him either, but I guess that is their business. If it gets worse we will have to say something, but hopefully it won't before May when our lease is up!
    ~May 21,2011~
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