How to quickly air out apartment due to hallway smell.
June 22, 2018 1:11 PM Subscribe
The building I live in sent out an email that they would be cleaning all of the hallways. Whatever they used is so strongly scented and is making me sick. I'm also worried for my pets. Is there anything I can do to at least get the scent out of my apartment quickly?
I have all of the windows opened. The fans in the bathroom are on. I have a smaller fan in the living room as well as the air units on fan mode. These units have a heat, cool, and fan mode so I'm not sure if fan or cool would be better.
In general I am very very sensitive to perfumes and odors in general so I don't know if it's just me being sensitive or what. Either way I have a headache and feel nauseous. I have my cats with me in the room that seems to have the least odor but it's seeping in. I'm freaking out about how long this odor will be hanging around. Should I have the air setting on cool or fan? I have one air purifier. Will that make a difference? It's perfumey and disgusting and this scent sensitivity kicks off some kind of anger in me. Any suggestions? I feel so sick and am worried about it affecting my cats too if they are exposed to it for too long.
I have all of the windows opened. The fans in the bathroom are on. I have a smaller fan in the living room as well as the air units on fan mode. These units have a heat, cool, and fan mode so I'm not sure if fan or cool would be better.
In general I am very very sensitive to perfumes and odors in general so I don't know if it's just me being sensitive or what. Either way I have a headache and feel nauseous. I have my cats with me in the room that seems to have the least odor but it's seeping in. I'm freaking out about how long this odor will be hanging around. Should I have the air setting on cool or fan? I have one air purifier. Will that make a difference? It's perfumey and disgusting and this scent sensitivity kicks off some kind of anger in me. Any suggestions? I feel so sick and am worried about it affecting my cats too if they are exposed to it for too long.
Best answer: Ugh, I feel your pain. Is there a way that you can better block off the entry point from the hallway (like fill socks with rice to make a doorstopper)? Otherwise, having your windows open will work eventually, especially with fans blowing air in and/or out. Are there windows in the hallway that can also open?
posted by pinochiette at 1:30 PM on June 22, 2018
posted by pinochiette at 1:30 PM on June 22, 2018
Best answer: Buy window fans, turn them so that they blow into the apartment. This will create a slightly higher positive pressure inside your apartment this keeps the hallway scent in from entering.
The bathroom fans create negative pressure which has to pull air from somewhere; some of the air from the hallway is probably getting pulled into your apartment.
posted by gregr at 1:36 PM on June 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
The bathroom fans create negative pressure which has to pull air from somewhere; some of the air from the hallway is probably getting pulled into your apartment.
posted by gregr at 1:36 PM on June 22, 2018 [9 favorites]
Best answer: Yeah, positive pressure from outside is probably your best bet.
Cats are capable of surviving in some pretty sub-optimal spaces; they'll be fine.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:41 PM on June 22, 2018
Cats are capable of surviving in some pretty sub-optimal spaces; they'll be fine.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:41 PM on June 22, 2018
Best answer: The bathroom fan will exhaust smelly air from your apartment and pull in air from the open windows, but will also pull in some smelly air from the hallway if your door seals aren't absolutely tight -- whether it does more harm than good depends on the balance of those two factors.
If you had fans in the windows themselves of the sort that seal around the edges, those would generate positive pressure within your apartment using outside air, and prevent most of the smelly air from the hallway from leaking in.
posted by jamjam at 1:41 PM on June 22, 2018
If you had fans in the windows themselves of the sort that seal around the edges, those would generate positive pressure within your apartment using outside air, and prevent most of the smelly air from the hallway from leaking in.
posted by jamjam at 1:41 PM on June 22, 2018
Best answer: I had this exact same problem. You need to tape your front door shut. Masking tape would be better, but regular tape is fine. Otherwise there's a chance that opening the windows will just create a draft that pulls more of the hall air into your apartment, you want to make sure the door is as airtight as possible. Then follow some of the other suggestions in this thread, although it seems like you're doing all you can.
For what its worth, an email to my management company means they now skip all the chemicals in my corridor and things are better.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:06 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
For what its worth, an email to my management company means they now skip all the chemicals in my corridor and things are better.
posted by stillnocturnal at 2:06 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thank you!! It's so much better now, I can't even smell it. I actually had one of those window fans and I think it helped. I sealed off the door, boiled vinegar, and sent them an email. I'm a little afraid of having to walk through it in the hallway tomorrow but hopefully it's gone by then.
posted by mokeydraws at 6:05 PM on June 22, 2018
posted by mokeydraws at 6:05 PM on June 22, 2018
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posted by furnace.heart at 1:27 PM on June 22, 2018 [1 favorite]