Strong weed smell permeating my apartment. Solutions?
February 23, 2022 5:33 PM Subscribe
Lately, there has been a pretty strong weed smell permeating my apartment, and I can kind of smell it "fresh". Strangely enough, the hallways smell fine. I've had maintenance come over to my apartment to check, and they suspect it's coming from another unit. The AC/heat both are off, nothing in the hallway, but the smell still persists.
As I am Deaf and nearsighted, the rest of my senses (smell, taste, feel) are very strong to over-compensate for the two weaker senses. I have a powerful sense of smell, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you spin it).
Sadly, the weed smell, which started a couple of weeks ago, has been persistently strong and constant, giving me headaches. I live in a smoke-free community, but of course whoever is doing it has complete disregard for the rules. I've had maintenance come over to try and determine where the smell could be coming from, I've tested stuff (by plugging up sink drains, any holes in the wall, turning off the AC/heater, etc) but no go, it's still around. It comes and goes, but it's quite powerful. It's never in the hallways, strangely enough.
I really don't want to move. I love the location and the apartment itself. Management is aware of the situation, and are doing what they can to try to resolve it, but it's hard to enforce. I want solutions to help. My lease is up for renewal, but I really don't want to go through the saga of moving, etc.
What would a good air purifier (preferably one that pulls in and purifies at a 360 degree) you would recommend, probably from Amazon? I want one that will eliminate/greatly reduce the smoke/weed smell, but not too expensive of a model.
Problem is, not sure where to put the purifier — my apartment is laid out very similarly to this floor plan.
So, the smell tends to congregate around the kitchen/living room. I'm not sure exactly where the smell comes from, so if I put the purifier near, say, the island, it might not be effective, but if I put it at the entrance, it might not get into the living room fully because of the island blocking egress. In other words, the island is kind of in the way. My apartment is around 710 sq ft in total, and my living room/kitchen is a perfect "half" of my apartment, as seen in the layout above, so maybe ~350-365 sq ft?
I tried Ozium spray, but it gave me a really bad headache, I really would prefer something neutral and purifying like an air purifier vs. sprays/plug ins that smell, because my nose is so sensitive to that kind of stuff.
I hope you can help me fix this situation and avoid moving!
BTW, completely not trying to be a Karen here — I mean, the occasional smell of weed is okay, whatever, it's legal, but it's been to the point where it's given me headaches and made my living situation basically uncomfortable because it's so persistent, recurring, and continually 'fresh', so that's why management is aware. It's also, according to management, a lease violation, because this is a smoke-free community. I hate to have to report that kind of thing, but it's been affecting my lifestyle and comfort greatly because of the continued nature of it. Just wanted to get that out there.
As I am Deaf and nearsighted, the rest of my senses (smell, taste, feel) are very strong to over-compensate for the two weaker senses. I have a powerful sense of smell, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you spin it).
Sadly, the weed smell, which started a couple of weeks ago, has been persistently strong and constant, giving me headaches. I live in a smoke-free community, but of course whoever is doing it has complete disregard for the rules. I've had maintenance come over to try and determine where the smell could be coming from, I've tested stuff (by plugging up sink drains, any holes in the wall, turning off the AC/heater, etc) but no go, it's still around. It comes and goes, but it's quite powerful. It's never in the hallways, strangely enough.
I really don't want to move. I love the location and the apartment itself. Management is aware of the situation, and are doing what they can to try to resolve it, but it's hard to enforce. I want solutions to help. My lease is up for renewal, but I really don't want to go through the saga of moving, etc.
What would a good air purifier (preferably one that pulls in and purifies at a 360 degree) you would recommend, probably from Amazon? I want one that will eliminate/greatly reduce the smoke/weed smell, but not too expensive of a model.
Problem is, not sure where to put the purifier — my apartment is laid out very similarly to this floor plan.
So, the smell tends to congregate around the kitchen/living room. I'm not sure exactly where the smell comes from, so if I put the purifier near, say, the island, it might not be effective, but if I put it at the entrance, it might not get into the living room fully because of the island blocking egress. In other words, the island is kind of in the way. My apartment is around 710 sq ft in total, and my living room/kitchen is a perfect "half" of my apartment, as seen in the layout above, so maybe ~350-365 sq ft?
I tried Ozium spray, but it gave me a really bad headache, I really would prefer something neutral and purifying like an air purifier vs. sprays/plug ins that smell, because my nose is so sensitive to that kind of stuff.
I hope you can help me fix this situation and avoid moving!
BTW, completely not trying to be a Karen here — I mean, the occasional smell of weed is okay, whatever, it's legal, but it's been to the point where it's given me headaches and made my living situation basically uncomfortable because it's so persistent, recurring, and continually 'fresh', so that's why management is aware. It's also, according to management, a lease violation, because this is a smoke-free community. I hate to have to report that kind of thing, but it's been affecting my lifestyle and comfort greatly because of the continued nature of it. Just wanted to get that out there.
And if you do find gaps, mortite is pretty good at filling them. It won't dry out, can be easily removed, and in most cases won't leave any residue or marks behind.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:51 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by RonButNotStupid at 5:51 PM on February 23, 2022
You need to find where are the vents in your various room, both above and below. MAYBE temporarily cover them with cling-film and masking tape, which should help isolate the source.
posted by kschang at 6:07 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by kschang at 6:07 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
When this happened to me, it turned out all of the apartments were connected by a common space into which our laundry rooms/dryers were vented. Under certain circumstances (lower relative pressure in our apartment, probably, e.g. when we ran the vent hood in the kitchen or had a fan pointing out a window) it seemed like our apartment would aggressively pull air and odors from the other units. And we would notice strong smells from other occupants at all times--like when they'd smoke weed at 2 a.m. The weed smell could be strong enough to wake me up.
posted by pullayup at 6:09 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by pullayup at 6:09 PM on February 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
If weather permits, try running a fan to pull air in from a window, increasing pressure in your unit.
Maybe also try pairing that with running the bathroom vent fan to make sure air isn't coming in that way.
A piece of tissue or toilet paper can make a good draft detector. Any air coming inward should be treated with suspicion.
posted by Acari at 6:18 PM on February 23, 2022
Maybe also try pairing that with running the bathroom vent fan to make sure air isn't coming in that way.
A piece of tissue or toilet paper can make a good draft detector. Any air coming inward should be treated with suspicion.
posted by Acari at 6:18 PM on February 23, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks, I'll pass your suggestions (drafts, holes, bathroom fans, etc) along to the maintenance team to see if they can take a look.
In the meantime, how about air purifiers? If you can point me in the direction of a good one, especially considering my apartment's layout, that would be wonderful.
posted by dubious_dude at 6:30 PM on February 23, 2022
In the meantime, how about air purifiers? If you can point me in the direction of a good one, especially considering my apartment's layout, that would be wonderful.
posted by dubious_dude at 6:30 PM on February 23, 2022
Put a fan in the window blowing outside air IN to the unit. It will create a slight positive pressure so your apartment will be "too full" of air, and air will want to flow OUT of the apartment through any little nooks and crannies... That means whatever route the smoke is entering, it will now be pushed out by the fresh air you've added to your unit.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:30 PM on February 23, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:30 PM on February 23, 2022 [5 favorites]
For a problem this frustrating I would probably just buy one of wirecutter’s top picks and then try other solutions as time goes on.
posted by raccoon409 at 6:41 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by raccoon409 at 6:41 PM on February 23, 2022
There should be a flap-like valve on the bathroom fan and the stove vent to prevent backflow when they are not in operation.
The stove vent valve is more likely to have gunk on or in it that's keeping it from closing or closing completely.
posted by jamjam at 6:58 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
The stove vent valve is more likely to have gunk on or in it that's keeping it from closing or closing completely.
posted by jamjam at 6:58 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have a Blue Pure 411 that has been very good, although it is designed for a smaller space - one of their larger units could be more practical for your apartment. I like that it’s almost silent on low speed and has a reliable filter change indicator. It’s run 24x7 for the last two years with no issues at all. I don’t like that they’ve raised the price from $129 to $169 in two years, surely due to pandemic-related gouging.
We had a smell problem in a previous apartment and it was from the kitchen fan - when other tenants would turn their fans on, it would push smells down through our vent. We would turn on the kitchen fan to push them back when we noticed.
posted by pocams at 7:36 PM on February 23, 2022
We had a smell problem in a previous apartment and it was from the kitchen fan - when other tenants would turn their fans on, it would push smells down through our vent. We would turn on the kitchen fan to push them back when we noticed.
posted by pocams at 7:36 PM on February 23, 2022
If it's a smell, which means the source is more from vapors/gases than particulates, you need something that has activated carbon that will neutralize the odor. The one most recommended for odors is the Austin Healthmate, but it's quite expensive ($500-$600). You could try to get by with a more conventional air purifier (designed more for particulates with a HEPA filter), but for odors you want something that's using carbon pellets like the Winix 5500 and not something that has the "black foam sheets" like the Wirecutter-recommended Coway or the Blueair 411. Bigger air purifiers are generally better since they push so much more air than smaller ones, or can move the same amount of air as a smaller one but much quieter.
The prices of these is probably going to shoot up once the first major wildfires hit the western US.
posted by meowzilla at 7:50 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
The prices of these is probably going to shoot up once the first major wildfires hit the western US.
posted by meowzilla at 7:50 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: @meowzilla what’s the difference between a smell/odor? How can I tell?
posted by dubious_dude at 7:56 PM on February 23, 2022
posted by dubious_dude at 7:56 PM on February 23, 2022
We moved out of an apartment because the heavy secondhand cigarette smoke from neighbors below us became unbearable. But towards the end of our time there, I was able to significantly reduce the smoke intrusion by closing up as many holes and cracks as I could.
A couple surprising places I found gaps that smoke could penetrate:
- Both of our bathrooms had big holes in the walls behind the medicine cabinets. I think the unit had originally had medicine cabinets built into the walls; those were taken out and replaced with newer ones mounted outside the walls, but the holes had never been filled in.
- Inside all of our closets, I found that the walls around the doorframes were full of big gaps, where the plasterers had done a sloppy job. I guess they figured nobody would ever see their handiwork in those spots. I used multiple tubs of spackle filling all those gaps.
We also had exhaust vents in the kitchen and the bathrooms, but we covered those over early on, to no avail.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:03 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
A couple surprising places I found gaps that smoke could penetrate:
- Both of our bathrooms had big holes in the walls behind the medicine cabinets. I think the unit had originally had medicine cabinets built into the walls; those were taken out and replaced with newer ones mounted outside the walls, but the holes had never been filled in.
- Inside all of our closets, I found that the walls around the doorframes were full of big gaps, where the plasterers had done a sloppy job. I guess they figured nobody would ever see their handiwork in those spots. I used multiple tubs of spackle filling all those gaps.
We also had exhaust vents in the kitchen and the bathrooms, but we covered those over early on, to no avail.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:03 PM on February 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I also have a blue purifier and highly recommend it.
Could someone be smoking outside and it's getting in through window gaps?
Also when smells are giving me a headache or triggering a migraine, peppermint essential oil helps me a lot. I have a roll on put some literally on my head an temples. The smell is strong and soothing so it helps disrupt the trigger smell, ease any queasy feelings from the headache, and it's cooling on the skin which helps too. Not a solution, but hopefully something that helps while you find a solution.
posted by wellifyouinsist at 5:45 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Could someone be smoking outside and it's getting in through window gaps?
Also when smells are giving me a headache or triggering a migraine, peppermint essential oil helps me a lot. I have a roll on put some literally on my head an temples. The smell is strong and soothing so it helps disrupt the trigger smell, ease any queasy feelings from the headache, and it's cooling on the skin which helps too. Not a solution, but hopefully something that helps while you find a solution.
posted by wellifyouinsist at 5:45 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
@meowzilla what’s the difference between a smell/odor? How can I tell?
A smell and an odor are two words that mean the same thing in this context.
The difference meowzilla is talking about here is the difference between odors carried around in the air as particulates, and those carried around in the air as gases (vapors). An air purifier with a HEPA filter will catch the first kind, but not the second kind. Smoke is a mixture of both.
But no air purifier is ever going to be as effective as keeping the odors out of your space in the first place, because there is simply no guarantee that any given parcel of odor-bearing outside air is going to visit the purifier before it visits your nose.
Far and away the most effective thing you can do here is find a stink-free location outside your apartment, and arrange for a fan to keep forcing air into the apartment from there to maintain the interior at positive pressure with respect to outside as nouvelle-personne suggests.
As long as there's a gentle outward breeze emerging from every gap in your apartment's envelope, which there will be if you're running it at positive pressure, smells can't drift in from outside regardless of where they originate. The only way this scheme is going to fail is if the apartment where the smoke is coming from is also being run at positive pressure using a stronger fan than yours and there's a direct and enclosed air path between the two apartments. Your best response, in that case, is to keep adding pressurization fans until your apartment wins the contest.
So, the smell tends to congregate around the kitchen/living room.
If your kitchen has an exhaust fan, there's a high likelihood that whichever apartment the smoke is originating in has one too, and that both of them dump their exhaust air into a cavity or ductwork common to all apartments. If the source apartment is running its own kitchen exhaust fan to reduce its own smoky smells, but your apartment is not, then that shared space will be at positive pressure with respect to both your apartments, and you'll get a slow drift of smoke entering yours through your idle kitchen exhaust fan.
Running your own kitchen exhaust fan will put your apartment at negative pressure with respect to outside. It will, however, create an outward flow into the shared exhaust cavity, and if that's the route the smell has been taking to get in with you, that will be enough to stop it.
So it would be worth your while just flipping on the kitchen exhaust fan and leaving it on for 24 hours, just to see if you still get smoke smells coming in. If you don't, then it's problem solved - just leave that fan running forever.
If you do still get smoky smells, the next thing to check is whether they seem to have moved. If your bathroom's exhaust fan also exhausts into the same shared space as your kitchen's, then you will probably find that with the kitchen exhaust running and the bathroom fan not, the first place you smell smoke moves closer to the bathroom. In that case, run both exhaust fans and re-evaluate after 24 hours.
If you're still getting smells with all your exhaust fans running then you can be pretty sure that it's either drifting in via somewhere other than a shared exhaust cavity, or that there are other gaps between the shared exhaust cavity and your interior that you don't know about. In either case, turning off your exhaust fans and acquiring a box fan mounted in a window plate to pressurize the whole apartment instead certainly becomes a worthwhile next experiment. Corrugated cardboard would be a cheap and suitable material from which to make an experimental box fan window mount. If it works, you can then replace the cardboard with something more robust like corflute or plywood.
posted by flabdablet at 7:54 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
A smell and an odor are two words that mean the same thing in this context.
The difference meowzilla is talking about here is the difference between odors carried around in the air as particulates, and those carried around in the air as gases (vapors). An air purifier with a HEPA filter will catch the first kind, but not the second kind. Smoke is a mixture of both.
But no air purifier is ever going to be as effective as keeping the odors out of your space in the first place, because there is simply no guarantee that any given parcel of odor-bearing outside air is going to visit the purifier before it visits your nose.
Far and away the most effective thing you can do here is find a stink-free location outside your apartment, and arrange for a fan to keep forcing air into the apartment from there to maintain the interior at positive pressure with respect to outside as nouvelle-personne suggests.
As long as there's a gentle outward breeze emerging from every gap in your apartment's envelope, which there will be if you're running it at positive pressure, smells can't drift in from outside regardless of where they originate. The only way this scheme is going to fail is if the apartment where the smoke is coming from is also being run at positive pressure using a stronger fan than yours and there's a direct and enclosed air path between the two apartments. Your best response, in that case, is to keep adding pressurization fans until your apartment wins the contest.
So, the smell tends to congregate around the kitchen/living room.
If your kitchen has an exhaust fan, there's a high likelihood that whichever apartment the smoke is originating in has one too, and that both of them dump their exhaust air into a cavity or ductwork common to all apartments. If the source apartment is running its own kitchen exhaust fan to reduce its own smoky smells, but your apartment is not, then that shared space will be at positive pressure with respect to both your apartments, and you'll get a slow drift of smoke entering yours through your idle kitchen exhaust fan.
Running your own kitchen exhaust fan will put your apartment at negative pressure with respect to outside. It will, however, create an outward flow into the shared exhaust cavity, and if that's the route the smell has been taking to get in with you, that will be enough to stop it.
So it would be worth your while just flipping on the kitchen exhaust fan and leaving it on for 24 hours, just to see if you still get smoke smells coming in. If you don't, then it's problem solved - just leave that fan running forever.
If you do still get smoky smells, the next thing to check is whether they seem to have moved. If your bathroom's exhaust fan also exhausts into the same shared space as your kitchen's, then you will probably find that with the kitchen exhaust running and the bathroom fan not, the first place you smell smoke moves closer to the bathroom. In that case, run both exhaust fans and re-evaluate after 24 hours.
If you're still getting smells with all your exhaust fans running then you can be pretty sure that it's either drifting in via somewhere other than a shared exhaust cavity, or that there are other gaps between the shared exhaust cavity and your interior that you don't know about. In either case, turning off your exhaust fans and acquiring a box fan mounted in a window plate to pressurize the whole apartment instead certainly becomes a worthwhile next experiment. Corrugated cardboard would be a cheap and suitable material from which to make an experimental box fan window mount. If it works, you can then replace the cardboard with something more robust like corflute or plywood.
posted by flabdablet at 7:54 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's also possible the source is not another apartment, but someone trying to be considerate and smoking *outside* - just unfortunately near the air intake for the building. You could look around or ask management where the air intake is, and next time you smell weed, go there to see if someone is smoking. I lived in an apartment that would get very strong cigarette smoke smells in the kitchen through the fan and it turned out to be this. I had to run down from the 10th floor a few times to talk to the smokers, but they were very understanding once they found out the smoke would get inside and bother anyone, and actually did stop smoking there. I suspect weed smokers might be even more chill, especially if they're already outside in order to avoid getting the smell inside.
(If this turns out to be the case, management should also post prominent signs at the air intake prohibiting smoking nearby, but realistically you may also have to do some education and put a friendly "no seriously this bothers a human, namely me" face to the problem.)
posted by cogitron at 8:49 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
(If this turns out to be the case, management should also post prominent signs at the air intake prohibiting smoking nearby, but realistically you may also have to do some education and put a friendly "no seriously this bothers a human, namely me" face to the problem.)
posted by cogitron at 8:49 AM on February 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I haven't tested it on weed smoke, but I've used the Coway purifier Wirecutter recommends for 5 years now and it's worked really well for my needs. With all the interior doors open, I think it would be powerful enough to cover the entire apartment when placed by the island.
Going back to doors, do you feel like the odor is coming in through the bedroom half of the apartment also, or mostly wafting over from the kitchen? If you can narrow down the kitchen & living area as the entrance point, keeping the bedroom door closed at all times & running a fan in there for pressurization might at least give you a safe space while you try to find a more comprehensive solution.
If the odor isn't noticeably worse with HVAC running, leaving it on would at least turn over the air faster and possibly help with the pressure differential as explained in comments above.
Hope you find a solution soon - I lived in an apartment with a mystery cigarette smell once and it was a LONG year.
posted by Ann Telope at 1:00 PM on February 24, 2022
Going back to doors, do you feel like the odor is coming in through the bedroom half of the apartment also, or mostly wafting over from the kitchen? If you can narrow down the kitchen & living area as the entrance point, keeping the bedroom door closed at all times & running a fan in there for pressurization might at least give you a safe space while you try to find a more comprehensive solution.
If the odor isn't noticeably worse with HVAC running, leaving it on would at least turn over the air faster and possibly help with the pressure differential as explained in comments above.
Hope you find a solution soon - I lived in an apartment with a mystery cigarette smell once and it was a LONG year.
posted by Ann Telope at 1:00 PM on February 24, 2022
I have neighbors who smoke (pot and cigars) on their balcony, and something about the wind patterns blows it right into my apartment through our ancient and poorly sealed windows—so “coming from outside” is definitely a possible explanation.
We have the Coway purifiers recommended by The Wirecutter, and when put on the highest setting they do a decent job cutting it. I can still smell it faintly, but by sucking up the particulates I don’t feel sick the way I would if they weren’t on.
Our living room is slightly larger than yours, and one Coway covers it well. In my experience (with the smokers, and wildfires), placement doesn’t matter overly much—on the highest setting they really blow, and the air circulates well throughout the room. They can be placed flat against a wall, and are surprisingly unobtrusive for their size.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 3:39 PM on February 24, 2022
We have the Coway purifiers recommended by The Wirecutter, and when put on the highest setting they do a decent job cutting it. I can still smell it faintly, but by sucking up the particulates I don’t feel sick the way I would if they weren’t on.
Our living room is slightly larger than yours, and one Coway covers it well. In my experience (with the smokers, and wildfires), placement doesn’t matter overly much—on the highest setting they really blow, and the air circulates well throughout the room. They can be placed flat against a wall, and are surprisingly unobtrusive for their size.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 3:39 PM on February 24, 2022
We went with Medify air purifiers. I liked the lifetime warranty (yes, it has rules) and they had great reviews.
We have two bedrooms, the place isn't sealed up well (rental), and we live in Oregon (wildfire is "normal" to us, but 2020's fires were insane), I'd had it with smoke and went overboard a bit for our apartment size. I wanted them to work EXTREMELY well when needed, and still be useful when we move, too.
We have about an 800 sq ft apartment. I could have just gotten one larger unit, but decided to split them up, hoping it would be more effective. I got two MA-15 (330 sq ft) and a MA-25 (500 sq ft).
We've been really happy with the purchase. They are sufficient during "normal" times on the lowest setting, so super-quiet, and while we didn't have the weeks of smoke cover like 2020, we did have a few times where they were obviously making a difference. Whenever we do move to a larger place, I intend to add to our Medify herd so we have whole home coverage. (And it will still probably be of the overkill sort. Being from a wildfire-area, I just figure it's a good way to make home a little more comfortable.)
posted by stormyteal at 6:01 PM on February 24, 2022
We have two bedrooms, the place isn't sealed up well (rental), and we live in Oregon (wildfire is "normal" to us, but 2020's fires were insane), I'd had it with smoke and went overboard a bit for our apartment size. I wanted them to work EXTREMELY well when needed, and still be useful when we move, too.
We have about an 800 sq ft apartment. I could have just gotten one larger unit, but decided to split them up, hoping it would be more effective. I got two MA-15 (330 sq ft) and a MA-25 (500 sq ft).
We've been really happy with the purchase. They are sufficient during "normal" times on the lowest setting, so super-quiet, and while we didn't have the weeks of smoke cover like 2020, we did have a few times where they were obviously making a difference. Whenever we do move to a larger place, I intend to add to our Medify herd so we have whole home coverage. (And it will still probably be of the overkill sort. Being from a wildfire-area, I just figure it's a good way to make home a little more comfortable.)
posted by stormyteal at 6:01 PM on February 24, 2022
Coming late to this, but I wanted to say I had this problem and it turned out to be a dead skunk under the house. Probably not likely where you live, but it’s happened at least once, so.
posted by mermaidcafe at 12:19 PM on March 12, 2022
posted by mermaidcafe at 12:19 PM on March 12, 2022
TIL that a dead skunk can smell like weed. Weird.
posted by flabdablet at 4:58 AM on March 13, 2022
posted by flabdablet at 4:58 AM on March 13, 2022
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Also check the utility closet where the plumbing and electrical is for your laundry/hot water/etc. Check the floor and ceiling for gaps between units to run conduit through, as well as any open conduit.
posted by phunniemee at 5:39 PM on February 23, 2022