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I've been at my apartment for a couple weeks now. Several times, I've noticed that I can smell the dinner that my neighbor is cooking. I don't know if it's from above, below, or next to me. Either way, I find it extremely odd that I walk into my apartment and can smell my neighbor's kitchen. Isn't that bad? Could it mean that a vent / duct is broken or disconnected somewhere? Could it be plugged? My concern is that if there is a disconnected, plugged, failed vent/duct between the neighbors kitchen (maybe from where the fan is over the stove/microwave) it could lead to a fire hazard, mold, etc. What do you think? (I would probably feel ridiculous bringing up such an issue to my landlord, unless you can confirm it is a serious problem). Thanks
BTW, thanks to all on here who've helped me in the past, which assisted me in finding my apartment. I love my apartment, though I'm discovering more and more issues with it. I am trying to convince myself that apartment living inherently comes along with lots of little issues/problems etc. It's not like I'm buying a brand new house! Also, I feel like the repair guy(s) do as quick and dirty of a job as possible just to "get it done." This might also be standard for an apartment. I am new to this.
You live in a multi unit building...you're going to hear, see and smell things coming from your neighbors. No, it's not bad, it's not serious, it's nothing.
I'm curious as to all the 'issues' you're finding with the apt you chose...didn't you notice any of these issues when you visited the unit before you signed the lease? And yes, apt living does come with a lot of little annoyances that you have to deal with.
I agree that having to smell your neighbor's cooking is not very pleasurable, but typical of many apartments.
As far as seeing the unit prior to signing the lease; unfortunately not all places allow that. Most rent the unit the minute someone gives notice and you aren't able to see it until the day you move in. At my complex they have a 'model' unit, unfortunately it's 10x nicer than what you'll actually end up with.
Your issue is happening because your vent pipes and your neighbors’ vent pipes feed into a common, main vent pipe that leads outside, most likely to the roof. You are getting your neighbor’s air ‘backwash’. If your neighbor smoked, you would smell it.
Most kitchen above-the-stove fans do not vent to the outside; they just have a filter. So if your kitchen fan does not vent to the outside, then it is coming through the bathroom vents.
The only solution I know of is to keep your vent fans on constantly, day and night, so that your air is pushing out and your neighbor’s air is not backwashing into your apartment. Vent fans use little electricity. If you can, crack a window far from your fans so that the fans are drawing in fresh air.
Hopefully your neighbors are not cooking kale! There is no solution for that, the bad smells will penetrate concrete walls, and it should be illegalized.
It's just a normal part of apartment living. Some places are definitely worse than others of course. I once lived above some Indian men who would cook native dishes and it made my entire apartment smell like their food (which no offense to them, smelled awful to me). Now my last place, I could only smell it if my neighbors were cooking something with a strong odor like garlic but I can probably count on two hands how many times that happened in 15 months.
What other things are you noticing? Maybe we can help put your mind at ease. Apartment living has a lot of small oddities that you wouldn't think of if you'd never lived in one.
I would add too that buying a brand new single family home is absolutely no guarantee of not smelling your neighbors' cooking or anything else. If my neighbors way down the road are cooking BBQ or anything pungent inside, the prevailing breezes waft it in my direction. My neighbor way up the road has a few goats and after a brief rainfall I can smell the goat-dem right away.
Hopefully your neighbors are not cooking kale! There is no solution for that, the bad smells will penetrate concrete walls, and it should be illegalized.
That isn't as bad as microwaving fish...
Someone did that twice at the breakroom where I worked and it bothered the C Level so badly he removed the microwaves for a week.
You should determine exactly where the odor is coming from in order to understand what is happening, and work from there to determine the best solution.
1. Does your building have central air conditioning per unit or for the entire building? In this case strong smells could permeate the entire building! Yech!
2. Does each unit have independent wall air conditioning? Air conditioners expel a small percentage (~10%) of stale air and take in a similar amount of fresh air, so the odor could be going outside and coming back in through A/C.
3. As stated above, are your kitchens adjacent with the stoves backing each other through the wall? Does your stove hood have internal or external exhaust? If the latter it's possible that the fan pressure from your neighbor's cooking is forcing the exhaust to take the easier path to enter your kitchen. Sniff test to determine this.
4. Same for bathrooms as stated above if you have a fan in your bathroom i.e. an internal bathroom with no window.
5. Not mentioned yet, but often electrical outlets are in the same place on opposite sides of walls between units. Sniff this and if it turns out to be a source you can shoot some expanding insulating foam sealant into the plug. (This may require a bit of practice on other surfaces before doing it for real.)
6. Stating the obvious, if your windows or patio door are open and same for neighbor's, then of course any odor they generate can find its way into your quarters.
7. If you have an internal hallway situation, check the seals around your door.
Yes, you can be totally anal about it or just accept that this is part of apartment living - actually of just life!
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just venting
