Smoking neighbors... (Bath: apartments, lease, new house) - Pittsburgh - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

gallacus · 11-20-2012, 07:30 PM

So, I realize this is a hotly debated issue, but I need some advice. We've moved into what we think is the perfect house about a year ago, but we have neighbors who love to stink us out. Their laundry vent is about 10 feet from the side of our house, and they use some of the most ridiculously scented crap I've ever smelled. I'm very sensitive to smells (a trip to Bath & Body Works is an instant headache for me) and they seem to do laundry for about 4-5 hours a day. On top of that, they've begun smoking in the last 6 months, which seems to be almost constant throughout the day and night. I realize some people don't mind the smell of cigarettes, but I can't stand it, not to mention the thought of my small children breathing it in.

The issue is, we can get away from it by cooping ourselves up indoors, but part of what we like so much about our new house is the yard/deck. I'm being driven crazy by the whole thing, I just want to play with my kids outside but I will end up with a headache, and don't want to subject my kids to this crap. Am I completely crazy, and I should just deal with it? Is this something that many people deal with? If I thought that I had a good chance of ending up in a house with none of this scented crap/smoke constantly wafting into our open windows, I'd consider moving.

selltheburgh · 11-20-2012, 08:09 PM

My current next door neighbor smokes sometimes on her front porch. I never smell it inside, but sometimes when I'm out on the porch. I don't like the smell at all.

My new house that I'm renovating has nobody on the one side. The other side is a house converted into 3 apartments. I own it so I control who lives next to me. I put in the lease that smoking is prohibited in or outside of the building.

ferraris · 11-20-2012, 08:15 PM

Have you seen a doctor about this? If you're on a friendly basis with your neighbors you could make broach the topic with them, but I think most people would perceive it as your problem and not their's. Switching to perfume free detergent or dryer sheets is no big deal, but they aren't going to quit smoking because of you. At best you could maybe convince them to get an air purifier, but I think the best route is to figure out why you are so sensitive to these smells and see if there is a way to fix that.

jay5835 · 11-20-2012, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

My current next door neighbor smokes sometimes on her front porch. I never smell it inside, but sometimes when I'm out on the porch. I don't like the smell at all.

My new house that I'm renovating has nobody on the one side. The other side is a house converted into 3 apartments. I own it so I control who lives next to me. I put in the lease that smoking is prohibited in or outside of the building.

Prohibit scented candles and air freshener, too. They're just as toxic, and their side effects equally deleterious. And they can make just as negative impression on prospective tenants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

Have you seen a doctor about this? If you're on a friendly basis with your neighbors you could make broach the topic with them, but I think most people would perceive it as your problem and not theirs. Switching to perfume free detergent or dryer sheets is no big deal, but they aren't going to quit smoking because of you. At best you could maybe convince them to get an air purifier, but I think the best route is to figure out why you are so sensitive to these smells and see if there is a way to fix that.

It's called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and it is an absolute ***** of a way to have to live.

http://www.multiplechemicalsensitivity.org/index.php

As for the poll, I live in an apartment building, two floors above the common laundry room, and I frequently smell dryer sheet stench when I open my windows. There's also a woman who comes and sits on the stoop on the back of the building, and I can sometimes smell her cigarette smoke, but that hardly ever happens. I think someone in my building smokes, but AFAICT, it's not in any contiguous apartment. I can only smell it when I go out in the hallway, and it's very slight. Sometimes I'm not even sure I smell it in the hall. What happens instead is I get a burning sensation in my mouth, and occasionally a headache (though that could be from something else), and so anything that could possibly be smoke seems suspicious.

Hopes · 11-21-2012, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gallacus

Am I completely crazy, and I should just deal with it? Is this something that many people deal with? If I thought that I had a good chance of ending up in a house with none of this scented crap/smoke constantly wafting into our open windows, I'd consider moving.

It sounds like you're overly sensitive to smells. Yes, you're going to have to just deal with it. You can't expect your neighbors to change the way they do laundry. And they do have a right to smoke outside on their property. You can find a house that doesn't have these issues via buying in the suburbs where houses are spaced further apart. You'll spend the rest of your life being annoyed by the smells of neighbors if you continue to live in houses that are too close to other houses.

gallacus · 11-21-2012, 06:14 AM

Thanks for weighing in, everyone.

jay5835 · 11-21-2012, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopes

Yes, you're going to have to just deal with it. You can't expect your neighbors to change the way they do laundry.

Unfortunately, this is many people's attitude.

gallacus · 11-21-2012, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay5835

Unfortunately, this is many people's attitude.

Yeah, I'll even go so far as to say that it's most people's interpretation of the whole "America's a free country" thing. I think that everyone has the right to smoke on their own property, so long as their doing so doesn't impinge on anyone else's equally important right to enjoy their own property. Same goes for scented laundry products.

Unfortunately, it seems like my whole "make sure what I'm doing isn't bothering anyone else" mentality isn't shared by the majority, or at least a critical mass, so now I'm left to figure out how to handle the situation.

Luckily, according to my poll, there's apparently better than a 50/50 chance that moving will solve the situation. I take my son/dog on walks every day, and I can't help but get frustrated when we enjoy fresh air for our entire walk, only to be greeted with the ever present smell of chemical fragrance and cigarette smoke upon our arrival at home. Seems like if I were to move anywhere else, this wouldn't be a problem, which is the source of most of my frustration.

Pitt Chick · 11-21-2012, 08:12 AM

But then, where is that line drawn?

Can I not use my fireplace to heat my house, as the smoke might bother someone somewhere?

Hopes · 11-21-2012, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay5835

Unfortunately, this is many people's attitude.

I'm personally familiar with the disorder you referenced. My sister had it for decades. We didn't wear perfume when we knew we would be with her. There were many other smells that bothered her too. Since she was our sister, we accomodated her when possible but it wasn't always possible. She would have NEVER expected strangers to accomodate her. She learned how to adapt and live with her problems. Most neighbors would be very put off if they were asked to not use the dryer sheets they like. People don't just use them for static but like the smell. They buy a house expecting to do things the general population can freely do. My sister understood that.