Smoke From Downstairs Is Driving Neighbor Nuts

DEAR MS. H.E.: I am looking for a device that measures secondhand smoke. I live in a condominium (top floor). I can smell cigarette smoke from a unit below me. This is the third year of this saga. My condo association has plugged up the wall space in my bathroom, only to have the smell shift to an adjacent closet. Since I have a heightened "olfactory awareness," not everyone can smell what I can - hence the need for a measuring device.

Also, do you recommend any indoor air-filtration devices that would eliminate the carcinogens from the air?

DEAR READER: I answered a very similar letter a few years ago. Not much has changed since then. Warm air still rises, and people in upper-level apartments are still breathing air that passes through lower apartments first.

But several readers have written recently to ask whether there aren't environmental laws that protect apartment dwellers from the "hazards of smoking neighbors." I'm afraid there are not.

According to Richard Knights, of Blue Sky Testing Lab, the amount of smoke you detect is probably not measurable - your nose is more sensitive than his instruments. That doesn't mean that there isn't enough secondhand smoke to be unpleasant, and, if you are very allergic to cigarette smoke, dangerous.

The first thing to do is what you apparently have already begun - plug up the air holes. Close all your windows and turn on any exhaust fans you have. This should draw air into the apartment, aggravating your problem and helping you in your detective work. Now use your sensitive nose to find those air leaks.

Electrical outlets are one possible culprit. Subject them to the sniff test and if they seem to be drawing smoke into your apartment, count your outlets and switch plates. At a hardware store with a good weatherization section, buy foam gaskets for each outlet and switch plate. Buy plastic child-proofing plugs for the outlets, too. Then unscrew the outlet and switch-plate covers, insert the gaskets according to directions, close them back up, and insert the child-proofing plugs.

Carefully look for other openings. Are there big cracks above and below the baseboards? It might be possible to caulk these. Is there a gap where plumbing comes up under the kitchen sink? You can spray foam insulation around the pipes, or simply plug the gaps with rags.

A good habit to get into is opening a window whenever you use a kitchen or bathroom exhaust fan. These appliances create negative air pressure in your apartment, pulling more air through surrounding leaks. An open window will supply a source of fresh air, lessening the pull on that mysterious, between-apartment air.

It's possible that your exhaust fan or fans share a common vent with one or more other apartments. If so, Knights thinks it's possible that smoky air could leak in through your fan when it is not in use. Leave the fan off for a couple of days and give it a periodic sniff. If you can smell smoke through it, look into having a back-flap installed.

As a second-to-last resort, Knights recommends an air cleaner. To handle cigarette smoke, which is composed of particulates and gases, you'll need a cleaner that can handle both.

This means buying a device that has a high-efficiency filter for particles and a charcoal filter for gases. Knights says his first choice is an Aireox, model 45. His second choice is an Allermed Airstar 5c. Both of these cleaners are available from Nigra Enterprises in California, at 1-818-889-6877.

Susan McGrath's column runs every two weeks in the Home/Real Estate section. Send questions and comments to: The Household Environmentalist, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA, 98111.