What do you do about cigarette smell in your apartment?

Question

i live in an upstairs apartment and the lady that lives below me smokes. some how the smell is coming up to my apartment. there are vents in the floor so i'm assuming that it comes up through there. however, the vents are closed because the vents in the ceilling are where my heat and air come from. does anyone have any suggestion as to what i could do to keep the smell from coming up to my apartment? i'm losing sleep because of this. it fills my entire apartment.

Answer 1

I would try to cover it with a smell you can appreciate, such as citrus air freshener or rose incense. But if what you want to do is attack the smoke smell specifically, and not try to confuse the issue with other scents (some people have trouble eating when they don't like the smell of the room, so it can be a problem), then an ionizer would seem to be the answer. You might even get the landlord to pay for it, or even get the landlord to insist the downstairs neighbor pay for it, if you can prove it is an actual health hazard.

Answer 2

Buy a furnace air filter and cut it into pieces the size of the vents on your floor. Take the top off of the vent and insert the filter under the cover. Actually a HEPA filter used in air purifiers will remove even the smallest smoke particles but they would cost a lot more and it may be harder to find one that you can cut to size.

You should be able to do this to your ceiling vents also since these will not restrict the airflow.

Do you have your own furnace. If so the smokey smell could be coming from your furnace if something is wrong.

Also do you know if the prior tenant smoked? If so the smell could be coming from your carpet. If you smell the carpet and it smells smokey. Rent a steam cleaner and give it a good cleaner.

Landlords are supposed to do this before you move in but a lot just spray carpet cleaner and vacuum which doesn't remove the smokey smell. It covers up the smell temporarily but when the fragrance evaporates the smell is still there deep in the pile of the carpet.

Good luck with your smoke problem! Maybe you could slip a few pamphlets on quitting smoking under her door too! There's a lot of people out there thinking about quiting they just need a little push.

Answer 3

you can burn candles, or use melter's that melt scented candle wax over a light bulb to mask the smell. that's all you can do for your apt. i'm a smoker and my girlfriend is not, so we use both. also i dump the butts and ashes into an old coffee can with a lid. it helps 'seal' the odors that stink long after the smoking is done. short of moving out, the only other option would be to talk to her and or the landlord. a word of caution, it's a tough addiction and some of those hooked are very testy when it comes to it. she may be very grouchy about it, we know it's bad for us and others who are around us but it's like a heroin addiction to kick. good luck.

Answer 4

OK here's a good suggestion: cut a clear plastic bag and tape it right on top of the vent... that will keep any odor coming from there away. for sure.
Regarding the already in place odor, light a lot of candles frequently inside the apt. try strong fragrances such as strawberry etc. Linen and Things has a lot of different ideas for that!!! =)

Answer 5

Dryer sheets over the vents or just start smoking heehee.... really if you all share the same furnace you might want to change the filter.because her smoke is getting into the cold air return and getting blown to your apartment through the duct work...

Answer 6

u have to know that number one inside pollutant is smoke from cigarettes. tell the lady downstairs that as it is her right to smoke it is yr right to breath clear oxygen. the vents from the walls could be open and the smoke could be coming from there.check it and close them. u really need to end this, it's like sleeping in a club.(european-where smoking is still permitted)

Answer 7

Try spraying maybe Frebreeze. Or some air freshinor that fits your style. Maybe you could try puting something over it like a air cleaner or something. You could just ask the ladie to go somewhere else and smoke!

Answer 8

Grose, try placing small glasses with acetic acid on the vents in the floor, this may help.

Answer 9

try putting downey dryer sheets in your heating vents(that way it'll make the smoke smell like fresh laundry)

Answer 10

Oust airfreshner and incense. It works the best and lasts a while.