Apartment complex, my neighbors (beside and above) are smokers, how can I keep the smell out of my apartment?

Question

For those of you who live in an apartment complex and are non-smokers you can relate to my frustration. I'm very sensitive to the smell of smoke (I get headaches and nausea). Even my children notice the smell. The smell of smoke is coming from the hallway, and through the vents making my apartment have that stale smoke smell. Any tips on how to get rid of it? I have a Febreez Scent Stories pointed at the front door but that doesn't seem to be working. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Thankfully we ~are~ moving but not for another few months. I just want to make it bearable until then. :)

Answer 1

3M makes air filters that will help remove smoke from the air that goes through them. These also work for pollen, mold, pet dander. (these go into your individual heating/air unit if you have access to a forced air unit.)

Use the fan option of your heating unit to circulate what is in the air/clean the air. Change the filter each month (they cost less than $20.) It's cheaper than the ion breeze devices (but you have to clean those daily to keep them working well.)

Oust makes a fan that you can put in your bathroom to kill bathroom odors, I don't know if it will help with the smoke but it does a great job with bathroom odor. Febreze only desensitizes your nose. It doesn't kill anything.

They sell draft (cold air) protectors for outside doors that slide under the door (therefore working even when you aren't home). You could try something like that as well to help block some of the smoke from coming in under the door.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

i dont know where your air vents are or how big they are in each room but you can go to lowes or home depot and buy individual vent filters for them. that may help some just remember to change them regularly and place little containers or bowls of vinegar (white or yellow) around your apartment. vinegar absorbs lots of odors of all kinds, especially smoke and pet odors. just remember to change those too about twice a month. you could burn candles also but they can sometimes be forgotten when you leave and could be dangerous. try these things, i think they will work well for you. check with your landlord also to see what the smoking policies are for your complex and ask if the air system filters can be changed more often.....something the landlord can do.

Answer 3

you need to complain to you apartment management, they are under state and federal laws to protect your well being, depending on the state that you are in you are free to move if you are in a at risk health situation that is not fixed by the apartment management.
Smoking is always considered a health risk and there is no reason you need to put up with it but you might end up with our problem we have been in our apartment building almost two years and our family has asthma issues to the point my daughter has been hospitalized from the cigarette smoke and as wonderful as our apartment has been at informing and informing the no smoking rules our problem has been that we are continually getting new neighbors and have to go through the whole process again and again, we had been saving up to buy a house but that is still a while so we are moving into a mobile home instead since our children need their own air with out things like smoke, cats and other allergens.

Answer 4

Keep using the febreez and go ask your neighbors if they could walk outside or something to smoke because your very sensitive to the smoke and you have young children. If they dont understand then you have rude neighbors and your only option may be to move

Also thos ionic breeze works wonderful but they are kind of expensive you can read up on them at http://www.sharperimage.com/us/en/catalog/categoryview/catid__101

Answer 5

with the smoke coming through the vents it will probably be impossible to keep the smell out. the only thing you can do is move to a smoke free building or maybe if you live on the top floor it wouldn't be so bad.

Answer 6

You need one of those ionic air cleaners, like the kind from Sharper Image. All Febreze does it make the funky air smell better. The air filer cleaner machines actually take the molecules out of the air and send it back out as clean air. Some of them are kinda pricey but if you hate smoke that much, it's worth it.

Answer 7

Try placing bowls of vinegar around the room. Put them up high..close to vents if possible. Also putting fabric sofenter sheets in the vents helpes a little. Other than that there is not much you can do.

Answer 8

The scent of vanilla is a natural odor killer. SO vanilla candles with a good strong scent are a good choice. You can also douse cottonballs with real vanilla extract. then just drop them around your vents and in places where it wont stain anything. Trust me. It works.

My dad used to use vanilla cotton balls in the basement to get rid of the musty odors.

Answer 9

try burning candles it helps with smoke smells
the best is clean air scent or fresh linen
put some fabric softer sheets in your vents

Answer 10

i have the same problem...except they dont smoke cigarettes if you know what i mean! keep your windows closed if you can and buy a humidifier, but what we mostly do is buy scented oils and burn them regularly, it lasts for hours