Problem: Smoker just moved in downstairs

[43st]

We live in an old apartment building, it has 6 apartments in it and it's probably over a 100 years old.

The apartment below us was rented to a new tenant last week and the person smokes. The smoke is finding it's way into our apartment and it can build up to pretty uncomfortable levels. We have an older hardwood floor and probably several other gaps, it's an old place after all. The place doesn't have any air handling systems in place.

So... what can we do? I don't mind if people smoke, I just don't want it in my life. Are there any devices that we can purchase to help our situation? Is there anything the smoker can do? We're both aware of the problem and we're trying to solve the problem together.

Some of our ideas...
- Landlord installs carpet on our floor to block the smoke from rising. (Might not work.)
- Purchase an air purifier. (I've heard they don't do much for smoke smells though.)
- Smokeless ashtray for the smoker. (The one she has is too loud, maybe they make a quieter model?)

Please help.

 

[Beau]

Have you made a complaint to the landlord yet? Could be against the lease agreement.

 

[Mr N8]

Carpet won't help, trust me. I had the same situation.

Here's something that can help a lot. I used to do it when people came to party:

Leave out a few bowls / glasses of white wine vinegar. It is oderless, and it absorbs the smell of the smoke. Of course, when people came over, we would stick a floating candle of flower in the glasses so nobody drank it.

 

[marquee]

Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Carpet won't help, trust me. I had the same situation.

Here's something that can help a lot. I used to do it when people came to party:

Leave out a few bowls / glasses of white wine vinegar. It is oderless, and it absorbs the smell of the smoke. Of course, when people came over, we would stick a floating candle of flower in the glasses so nobody drank it.

what's the point of the floating candle or flower? i would never just start drinking glasses of liquid in someone else's house, even if it was just water. i'd get a new glass.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: Beau
Have you made a complaint to the landlord yet? Could be against the lease agreement.

Yeah, this should be your first course of action. It would be stupid to waste time and money on air purifiers and crap like that if you don't have to, and if you are feeling extra angry and s/he won't do anything about, then you should just file a complaint against the landlord for doing nothing about it or something dumb like that.

No one should be grossed out of their own home by something like this.

If worse comes to worse, just kick in the door of the smoker and pee on their face while they are sleeping.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: marquee

Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Carpet won't help, trust me. I had the same situation.

Here's something that can help a lot. I used to do it when people came to party:

Leave out a few bowls / glasses of white wine vinegar. It is oderless, and it absorbs the smell of the smoke. Of course, when people came over, we would stick a floating candle of flower in the glasses so nobody drank it.

what's the point of the floating candle or flower? i would never just start drinking glasses of liquid in someone else's house, even if it was just water. i'd get a new glass.

There are some WEIRD people out there.

 

[slikmunks]

Originally posted by: marquee

Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Carpet won't help, trust me. I had the same situation.

Here's something that can help a lot. I used to do it when people came to party:

Leave out a few bowls / glasses of white wine vinegar. It is oderless, and it absorbs the smell of the smoke. Of course, when people came over, we would stick a floating candle of flower in the glasses so nobody drank it.

what's the point of the floating candle or flower? i would never just start drinking glasses of liquid in someone else's house, even if it was just water. i'd get a new glass.

hey, is that a bowl of 4 week old water sitting on ur table!? let me have a sip!!

LOL.

 

[Ausm]

Solution:

Move to a smoke free facility

Ausm

 

[bleeb]

Talk to LandLord about smoke problem. If he/she is a d1ck, go downstairs, calmly and nicely ask if they would limit their smoking to outside because of the smoke problem. Just be very nice and courteous and try to work out something. If that doesn't work. wait for other suggestions from ATOT! Cause they ROCK!

 

[Rufio]

i like to find old flowerpots and drink the fermented water.

even flowers wont' stop me from drinking that water!!

 

[308nato]

If your apartment or building are not labeled as "Smoke Free", you are pretty much going to live with it as long as you are there.

 

[43st]

Originally posted by: Beau
Have you made a complaint to the landlord yet? Could be against the lease agreement.

I believe that she has the right to smoke, we don't want to prevent her from doing what she wants to in her apartment. That's why we're trying to work together to find a solution.

We're past the pissed off phase and we're looking for ideas at this point. I'll call the landlord this afternoon but I doubt they'll have a solution either. If anything they'll just let us out of our lease without a penalty, but we don't want to move.

 

[ajpa123]

If I were you, I would try to either relocate in your current complex, or somewhere close-by.

I say this because I had aasthsma as a child but outgrew it by my late teen years, and it would be wise to avoid any chance of developing anykind of lung disease! It's a living hell.

Do a google on 'secondhand smoke apartment' or something similar to find links like this

AJ.

 

[slikmunks]

it's nice that the smoker is willing to try and work with you to figure out a solution. thumbs up to him for being a considerate person

 

[hoyaguru]

Start smoking yourself, you won't even notice the guy downstairs.

 

[Mr N8]

Originally posted by: slikmunks

Originally posted by: marquee

Originally posted by: MogulMonster
Carpet won't help, trust me. I had the same situation.

Here's something that can help a lot. I used to do it when people came to party:

Leave out a few bowls / glasses of white wine vinegar. It is oderless, and it absorbs the smell of the smoke. Of course, when people came over, we would stick a floating candle of flower in the glasses so nobody drank it.

what's the point of the floating candle or flower? i would never just start drinking glasses of liquid in someone else's house, even if it was just water. i'd get a new glass.

hey, is that a bowl of 4 week old water sitting on ur table!? let me have a sip!!

LOL.

Never underestimate the power of liquor. :beer: :wine:

 

[Avatar26]

Indoor Air Purifiers
More
Might help

 

[AmerDoux]

There are all kinds of filters out there but I dont think any of them are 100% effective in removing the smoke/smell.
Have you considered switching apt's? Since the smoke rises, put the smoker upstairs and you take the apt. downstairs.

 

[FrOsTxxbYtE]

tell him to smoke outside

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: Thera

- Landlord installs carpet on our floor to block the smoke from rising. (Might not work.)
- Purchase an air purifier. (I've heard they don't do much for smoke smells though.)
- Smokeless ashtray for the smoker. (The one she has is too loud, maybe they make a quieter model?)

Carpet will not help. If anything, it will trap the odors and make them even more persistent.

I know there is foam spray insulation used to retrofit older houses which can be sprayed into the floor joist area and will expand to form a barrier. That might be a solution, but I don't know what the cost would be.

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: slikmunks
it's nice that the smoker is willing to try and work with you to figure out a solution. thumbs up to him for being a considerate person

Hell of alot more considerate then these liberal asshole politicians who make sweeping non-smoking laws and implement them without regard of smoker's rights.

If they cut them some slack they would be surprised how man y people who smoke are willing to compromise.

Ausm

 

[Rufio]

start peeing on your floor.

it is evident that smoke is coming thru your old hardwoodfloors, so your pee can flow downstairs.

the smoker will learn not to smoke if they don't want to get peed on.

 

[43st]

Originally posted by: AmerDoux
There are all kinds of filters out there but I dont think any of them are 100% effective in removing the smoke/smell.
Have you considered switching apt's? Since the smoke rises, put the smoker upstairs and you take the apt. downstairs.

The apartments are all sized differently. The one downstairs is a 3 bedroom while ours is only a 2 bedroom. We live in Westchester county just North of NYC and we don't want to pay the extra costs for an apartment on the first floor.

Thanks for the link ajpa123. I'm looking at local resources for New York state right now. It doesn't look like there are many solutions though.

 

[cbeavers]

Get a Air Ionizer, It takes all of the negative Ions out of the air, which cause the nasty smell of those cancer sticks.

 

[43st]

Originally posted by: cbeavers
Get a Air Ionizer, It takes all of the negative Ions out of the air, which cause the nasty smell of those cancer sticks.

Consumer Reports did a little piece on air purifiers in the October issue. They said they're great for particles but don't get one to solve an odor problem, especially cigarette smoke odor.

My next action is going to be getting some caulking, insulation, some door gasket and other stuff from the hardware store. We'll take a day and plug every hole we can find. After that I'll probably request the landlord put something between the floor joists.