Does Weed Smell Go Through Vents? 216 Most Correct Answers

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Air vents that emit smoke odors can cause a home to fill with unwanted aromas. Whether it’s from nicotine or the remains of a kitchen, candle or brush fire, smoke odors can be annoying. By learning how to eliminate the smell of smoke from air vents, you can make your home an odor-free zone.

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Prepare to clean the air vents

To thoroughly clean air vents, remove them from the ceiling, walls, or floor. Work in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves and safety glasses when handling cleaning supplies.

Use soft cloths and sponges rather than abrasive tools like steel wool, which can scratch the vent. A narrow brush can remove hidden odors in the fins.

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If you are removing more than one vent, mark them so they will fit snugly when reinstalled. If the vents are painted, be careful when cleaning them. Do not soak, use strong or abrasive cleaners, or use a scrubbing brush. Mild dish soap, a soft cloth, and elbow grease should be enough to clean the air vents.

Eliminate smoke smell

If you live in an area near a recent devastating wildfire, the smell of the fire may have found its way into your home. Cleaning the vents and replacing the filters will reduce the smell. Air vents should also be cleaned if there has been a recent kitchen fire and the house is filled with significant smoke. The fumes and odors adhere to the inside of the vent and may be visibly present on the outside.

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Remove the screws that hold the vent in place and place them in a bowl for easy finding and reinstalling. Dip the vent in vinegar and give it a good scrub. Wipe the inside of the cavity that the vent covers. Rinse with clean water and dry thoroughly before reattaching the vent.

Eliminate smoke odors while cooking

Unwanted odors around the home, like that from a burning pan, can linger. Remove the vents and clean the surfaces with vinegar and baking soda. Place the vents in a bath of 1 part baking soda and 2 parts vinegar. Let soak for 15 minutes or overnight. Use a narrow brush to clean between the fan blades. Rinse and dry well before reassembly.

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If the vents are covered with oil or cooking residue, they may need a stronger cleaning solution. Mix 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup vinegar in a gallon of hot water. Spray or scrub this cleaning solution on the air vents. Leave it on for 20 minutes to penetrate the crust layer before scrubbing and rinsing.

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Eliminate cigarette smoke smell

Cleaning the remaining nicotine from the vents can seem like an overwhelming undertaking. However, with the right techniques and odor eliminators, it can be done quickly and effectively. In apartment buildings, smoke from other occupants can move into other areas and contaminate vents long after the last butt has been put out.

Plain vinegar can work well, or you can scrub the air vents with a solution of 1 tablespoon ammonia to 1 cup water. If the cigarette smell continues to cling to the cleaned vent, mix 1 part bleach to 4 parts warm water. Let the vent soak for a few hours or overnight. Rinse and dry the vent well before reinstalling.

An activated carbon filter placed in the air vent can remove smoke odors coming through the air vent before they enter your home.

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For simplicity, let’s assume this is a building that will be left alone and therefore not subject to forced air movement (e.g. from people walking around, dehumidifiers, drafts, thermal buoyancy from heating, etc.).

Whether odors migrate upwards or downwards is then not determined by the mass of their components (related to their vapor density), but rather by their initial concentrations (or their gradients). If the initial odor concentrations are already at their thermodynamic equilibrium values, nothing will “wander” at all.

But if you initially have high concentrations of, say, acetic acid fumes from fresh silicone caulk in the basement of your building while the top floor is unsealed and free of acetic acid fumes, the acid odor will definitely travel upwards. Conversely, if you first caulked the top floor before the basement, the smell will travel down.

In either case, the process simply follows the concentration gradients according to Fick’s laws and continues until thermodynamic equilibrium is reached, or rather approached (at least if you don’t disturb the equilibrium by airing the building or caulking for the rest of your time) . Life). For all practical purposes, “equilibrium” simply means “equal concentration throughout” (see point 1 below for an explanation).

Which is determined by the particle masses

the equilibrium pressures and concentrations (very slightly lower equilibrium odor density on the top floor compared to the basement); Because mass differs between gases, the different gases in a mixture will change differently with altitude. see this answer for calculating relative particle concentrations (e.g. for the mixture of air and a specific odor) with altitude; the differences are tiny: only 0.4% for a colossal mass difference of 100 u particle mass and a height difference of 10 meters; probably not even a sniffer dog walking from the basement to the top floor can detect a relative concentration difference of 0.4% above the background concentration (dogs can of course detect very small absolute concentrations before zero); therefore we can practically assume that the equilibrium concentration for each component gas is homogeneous and is determined by Dalton’s law applied at ground level, the rate of travel; at the same pressure, regions with a higher proportion (see again Dalton’s law) of heavier particles tend to be more dense and cause diffusive lift of the less dense regions, which can be viewed as a quick bypass to the otherwise slow diffusive processes; this theoretically represents an up/down preference; However, as noted by Philip Wood, the typical concentrations of odor molecules are very, very small (for a typical building, I would say a few grams of acetic acid in a few hundred kilograms of air, so more like 1:100,000 to 1:1,000,000 and less), ie. H. even large relative changes in the concentration of heavy odor molecules change the density of the air-odor mixture only insignificantly; Therefore, the buoyancy of diffusion is irrelevant, since the odor distribution accelerates the diffusivity of the particles, but this is not a gravitational effect, but an inertial (collision) effect, i.e. some substances move faster than others, but it is not that the diffusion after preferred above or below (except due to concentration gradients)

If, contrary to my assumption above, the building is not left alone, there is an extremely wide range of possible convection scenarios, some of which can dramatically (by many orders of magnitude) change the speed of odor propagation. Again, this doesn’t mean much in terms of the heavy mass/density of the odor in question.

As to the question of whether all odor molecules are lighter than air, most odor molecules are organic and often contain a benzene ring or a chain of several carbon atoms (e.g. esters in fragrances) and are thus significantly heavier than all types of air molecules. Nitrogen has a molecular weight of 28 grams, oxygen has 32 grams. For comparison, benzene has a molecular weight of 78 grams, while my silicone seal example, acetic acid, has 60 grams. The lightest odorant is methane (no! see p.s. at the bottom of this answer) with a molar mass of 16 grams, followed by ammonia at 17 grams and hydrogen fluoride at 20 grams. Ethylene is already at 28 grams and ethane at 30 grams. If we so barring hydrogen fluoride (which you’ll probably only smell shortly before you die), only methane and ammonia are odors that are considerably lighter than air. All others are at least as heavy as air or even (much) heavier.

Also note that the transport speed or concentration of an odor is often much less relevant than the olfactory activity itself. Some substances can be detected through the nose at extremely low concentrations, which can be achieved very quickly, surprisingly far from the source itself when the nominal diffusivity appears low. When concentrations increase after initial detection, the nose becomes deaf to these smells and we think that nothing has changed (“the smell is no longer moving”), even though the concentration is changing more than ever. An extreme example of this numbing effect is hydrogen sulfide (chicken egg smell) which can be smelled very clearly at first, but after a few minutes of exposure time, there is no smell at all! Since hydrogen sulfide is toxic in higher concentrations, this effect can be very dangerous.

Sorry, small correction needed: methane is characterized as odorless. People (myself included) often think it stinks because it’s mostly found (as in cow dung) with other odorous substances, e.g. sulfur compounds. For methane (as well as propane and butane) fuel, the smelly compounds are even intentionally added for safety reasons, to make the (toxic and flammable) methane easily detectable by humans.

If you’ve felt the urge to smoke but are stuck indoors, there may still be options.

Of course, it’s always best to smoke outdoors as there’s better ventilation and the smoke has more areas to dissipate into (that aren’t parts of your house).

But with that in mind, if you still need to smoke indoors, we have a few tricks on how to smoke in your room without smelling it.

If you’d rather watch our video guide, we’ve got it below:

1. Turn on an air purifier.

One of the best ways to treat smoke indoors is by turning on an air purifier. Air purifiers work by drawing ambient air through a series of filters to remove harmful particles, bacteria and odors.

The Rabbit Air MinusA2 uses 5 different filters and an ionizer as the final cleaning stage

Once the air is cleaned, it is redistributed through the vent

For the best odor control, try to find an air purifier that has an activated charcoal or charcoal filter. This filter is the most effective way for an air purifier to remove odors from the air and can make a noticeable difference

Close-up of the HEPA and activated carbon filters

Here are some of our top recommendations for air purifiers with activated carbon filters:

BUDGET OPTION: For a budget option that uses the same charcoal material, consider the Smoke Buddy.

With this product you can inhale as normal, but on the exhale you are exhaling into the device which filters the smoke into the Smoke Buddy, drastically limiting the amount of smoke that can escape into your room.

RELATED – Do Air Purifiers Remove Odors? (Spoilers: yes, but only some)

2. Open a window.

Wherever possible, try to open a window while smoking.

The open window provides more ventilation and gives the smoke an exit area so it doesn’t linger in the room and settle. Once it has settled, the smoke smell can be more difficult to remove.

When smoking, try to exhale directly out of the open window. Again, this will help get the smoke out of the room as quickly as possible. The longer it stays, the longer it lasts.

3. Close all ventilation openings.

Now this may seem counterintuitive, but make sure you close any internal vents.

Smoke that enters the air vent can easily be sucked through your HVAC system and enter many rooms of the home in a short period of time.

This is especially critical if you are attempting to smoke secretly in an indoor area of ​​the home. Parents, roommates, spouses or children can quickly spot smoke entering neighboring rooms through the vents.

How do I quickly close an air vent?

Most vents have small metal levers that slide back and forth, opening or closing the vent. You can also tape a plastic bag or piece of paper to the vent for added protection.

If you block the vent, be sure to take it off after you’ve finished smoking to restore proper ventilation of the room and avoid raising suspicions.

RELATED – Best Air Purifiers

4. Put a wet towel next to the closed door.

If the vents in the room are blocked, the last line of defense against smoke creeping out is to protect the air gap at the bottom of the door.

Just as smoke can sneak through vents, it can also sneak under doors.

For a quick fix, throw a towel or a pile of clothes on the floor by the door. This additional substance prevents the smoke from leaving the room.

For even better coverage, try wetting the towel. Smoke has more difficulty penetrating through moisture, so this is just an additional barrier.

Smoking in the boy’s room…

Remember the song “Smoking in the Boys Room,” a 1970s classic about lighting up in the bathroom? Not only was this song very popular, but they might have stumbled upon something.

Smoking in bathrooms has a few small advantages over other rooms.

Benefits of smoking in the bathroom

Tile floors repel odors: Most bathrooms have tile or linoleum floors, both of which resist smoke smells better than carpet.

Most bathrooms have tile or linoleum floors, both of which resist smoke smells better than carpet. Wet towels make sense: Using the wet towel trick, it can be difficult to smoke in any room but a bathroom and use a wet towel at the foot of the door. If you get caught, a wet towel doesn’t make sense in any other setting.

With the wet towel trick, it can be difficult to smoke in any room but a bathroom and use a wet towel at the foot of the door. If you get caught, a wet towel doesn’t make sense in any other setting. Turn on the shower: If you want to avoid people barging in and catching you in the middle of the smoke, try turning on the shower. The vapor helps absorb the smoke and guarantees a degree of privacy.

5. Put your hair up and limit clothing.

Smoke sticks to everything it comes in contact with. If you’re trying to smoke a cigarette quickly, try to limit these items.

If you have long hair, tie it in a ponytail or bun and pull it away from your face.

Remove any jackets or pants and opt for tank tops, shorts, and other form-fitting clothing instead.

You’ll probably want to change your clothes immediately after smoking anyway to hide the smell, so it’s just easier if you just stick to the basics.

RELATED – Dyson Hair Dryer Review

6. Cover the smell.

Whether you’re smoking in the bathroom or another room, it helps to use something to mask the smell of smoke.

You can use:

candles

Essential oil diffusers

Plug-in air freshener

Aerosol air freshener

For best results, light or turn on the diffuser before you start smoking. Then light up and enjoy your smoke.

When you’re done, dip the cigarette in cold water and keep the air freshener running. This will help ensure that all smoke smell is masked.

If you’re particularly concerned, you can even leave the air freshener running after you’ve left, but be sure to monitor it (especially if it’s a candle).

7. Be brief.

Every extra minute you spend on a puff is an extra minute for smoke to spread and settle around you. Try to limit yourself to just a few minutes for the sneakiest smoking experiences.

If you keep it short and follow the tips listed above, you can surely smoke quickly without leaving any lasting impressions in the room.

8. Refresh yourself.

Last but not least, remember to freshen up after smoking.

One of the biggest misconceptions smokers might have is that people can’t smell smoke because they can’t smell it.

In most cases this is simply not true.

Think of it like a painter at work. You sit in the middle of the fumes for a long time. When they leave, they may think the air smells, but in most cases the smell of the paint can linger on their clothes or body.

The same goes for smoke.

After you’re done smoking, follow the freshness checklist below to get rid of any smoke smell that might still be on your body.

brush your teeth

take a shower

wash your face

Wash your body

wash your hair

Change into fresh clothes

Final Thoughts

Still not sure how to smoke in your room without smelling it?

If you use a combination of these tips, you’ll likely be able to get up a smoke quickly without taking up too much space or making other household members suspicious.

How to get smoke smell out of the house after a fire: A complete guide

A fire in your home is a tragedy. Whether it’s a small or large food fire, a fire destroys precious memories made in the home. Now that you’ve focused on the mental and physical health of you and your loved ones, it’s time to start the clean-up process.

Items left over after damage should bring you some comfort, but a lingering smell of smoke will only bring back bad memories. The guide discusses cleaning solutions that are specifically tailored to remove smoke particles. Let’s start.

Why is the smell of smoke so clinging?

A quick word on fire smoke odors before we move on to cleaning solutions. The residue of the damage depends on what burned in your home. If your plastics get caught in the flame, your smoke odor will be harder to remove. In addition, carpets, furniture and curtains, among other things, easily absorb smoke particles.

Because the molecules are so small, they can be picked up by different surfaces. Consider every piece of furniture in your home vulnerable to smoke damage.

Gear up before you enter

Before you start the analysis process at your home, make sure you are taking the right security precautions. Do not enter your property without a mask and goggles. Make sure your equipment is rated to protect against fire damage. If possible, wear long-sleeved clothing to prevent smoke particles from penetrating your skin.

Assess the damage.

No two fires will ever look the same. You must begin your assessment with no expectations and try to be as level-headed as possible. The smoke odor removal process will help with the healing, but make sure you’re in the right frame of mind before you begin. Before you take any steps to remove the smell of smoke, you need to ask yourself a few questions.

How long did the fire burn?

How much of my house did the fire destroy?

Are your walls painted with latex paint?

Which materials (wood/plastic/upholstery) were burned?

Walk through your house and analyze the smoke damage. Bring a pen and paper to write down what you see. Note whether larger rooms or smaller rooms have suffered more. Check your HVAC system, furnace filters, window screens, and any air filters for soot or ash. Make sure your search is slow and thorough so you can find a comprehensive cleaning solution to get rid of the smoke smells.

What does my timeline look like?

Start figuring out how you’re going to tackle odor elimination as soon as you can. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more persistent you will notice the fire smoke. Of course, before you begin, take some time to rest your mind and mental state. But you should try to start the recovery process a few days after the fire is extinguished.

Depending on the steps you take and how diligent you are in controlling the smoke particles, your odor removal timeframe could be anywhere from two weeks to a month. However, be patient as your home fire is unique. An exact time frame will result from your assessment and which steps you consider to be the most sensible.

What if my home is covered in soot?

Sometimes a house fire leaves smoke residue behind. Soot, which results from the incomplete combustion of fuels such as wood and oil, is a common residue, among others. The carbon particles stick to household items and release acids and chemicals into the home, significantly worsening air quality.

Soot, in particular, is dangerous if improperly cleaned. You risk exposing yourself to unhealthy chemicals while cleaning. Also, you may not be able to remove all of the soot from your home unless you use the right equipment. If you notice massive buildup during your assessment, call an expert right away.

What steps can I take to tidy up my home?

Now that you’ve analyzed your apartment and decided to do whatever you can to clean yourself up, you’re probably wondering where to start. The tips below are a good place to start, but you may need to take additional steps or do more research on smoke odors.

Before you begin, you should make sure you have the right cleaning products. Although scented candles may seem like a simple solution, the smell of smoke will not go away. Among other things, you should have baking soda, white vinegar, dish soap, and warm water. You should also have rags, vacuums, and garbage bags on hand to get rid of things.

Step 1: Remove household items.

Before you start cleaning up, you should remove as many household items as possible. Anything that smells of smoke should be taken outside. Separate your belongings into two categories, recoverable and destroyed. Be honest with yourself, if removing the smoke smells is too much of a hassle, put it on the damaged pile.

Items that cannot be restored include carpets, wallpaper, building materials, and insulation. Furniture, clothing and bedding can be cleaned externally and should be removed as soon as possible to remove the smoke smell. Leave the items in the fresh air to eliminate the stench. The fewer objects with smoke particles left in your room, the easier your odor elimination will be.

Step 2: Open all your windows and doors.

The fresher air you let into your space; the more smoke particles are pushed out. If you can, open your windows and doors wide. Make sure the weather is neither too hot nor too cold as inclement weather can make the smoke smell worse.

Use fans to keep the fresh air flowing through your home, or simply open all the windows to let in fresh air while you start cleaning. You want to prioritize the air quality in your room to get rid of smoke smells.

Step 3: Properly jump on the ventilation game

Make yourself a ventilation system by placing an exhaust fan at your front door. Point the fan inward to draw as much outside air into your space as possible. Ozone generators are also an exceptionally handy way to remove smoke odors from your home.

Step 4: Consider your options.

Once your furniture and any items with a lingering smell of smoke are removed from the property, and you’ve installed a ventilation system, cleaning can begin. We have listed four courses of action that are available to you. Decide what works best for you, or if none of these seem applicable, feel free to investigate further.

DIY cleaning

If you want to remove smoke odor from your property yourself, you’ll want to make sure you have the right tools. First of all, sprinkle baking soda on all surfaces you want to clean. The powder helps remove smoke odors and residue. After that, slowly rub white vinegar and warm water on the surfaces. After a few minutes, the stain and smell should go away. Alternatively, you can use dish soap to remove stains.

Chemical cleaning

Dry cleaning is a relatively inexpensive alternative to hand washing all clothing and smaller items. Keep in mind that your local dry cleaner cannot restore larger pieces of furniture. Also, be prepared to wait a while for the company to complete your smoke odor removal job.

Fumigation of house tents

Although house tents are generally used to control insects, they can also remove fire smoke residue. In this scenario, consider pairing an ozone generator with your tent to eliminate the odor of items that can’t be taken to the dry cleaner.

With this method, renting a machine will cost you less than buying the product for one-time use.

Thermal fog machine

A thermal fogger uses compressed air to disperse deodorant droplets throughout the home and remove smoke odors. If you are interested in using these machines, you should consider hiring a professional.

frequently asked Questions

Does the smell of smoke go away?

Although a stubborn odor, the smoke smell should eventually go away, either on its own or with the help of a good baking soda scrub.

Is the smell after a fire dangerous?

The smell after a fire is simply the residue of smoke, so it can damage your airways in the same way (albeit to a much lesser extent).

How does a smoking house smell?

The obvious answer to this question is cigarettes, but it can also smell like a potent combination of air fresheners to mask the smell.

How long does it take for the smell of smoke to go away?

On average, the smell of a cigarette lasts up to eight hours after smoking.

Does Febreze eliminate smoke smell?

Febreze can mask the smell of cigarettes but cannot eliminate it completely.

Why does my house smell of cigarette smoke even though I don’t smoke?

Sometimes the smell of cigarettes can accumulate on a foreign basis. If you spend a lot of time with smokers, you can take the scent home with you.

Don’t wait, call an expert.

You don’t have to live with the lingering smell of smoke that reminds you of a past tragedy. Call the All Dry USA team today to make an appointment and reclaim your home. The company works directly with your schedule to ensure all smoke odors are gone.

Unfortunately, passive smoking in multifamily buildings such as apartments and condos is both a common problem and dangerous for you and your family. Secondhand smoke can lead to serious health problems such as lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, and worsen asthma in adults and children. It is particularly dangerous for children as it can cause permanent damage to growing lungs and cause respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).1

Secondhand smoke can enter apartment buildings from many places, including vents and cracks in walls or floors.

You are not the only one exposed to passive smoking in your apartment building. Based on multiple studies, an estimated 44 to 53 percent of apartment building occupants who do not permit smoking in their home have experienced secondhand smoke entering their home from elsewhere in or around the building.2 The following steps may help when you find yourself in this difficult situation.

Q: Can I get the renter in the unit next to ours to stop smoking on their patio? The smoke comes over to us when we are on our back patio or when we have our patio door or any windows there open.

MK, San Pedro

A: A first thought is that the rental or lease agreement might prohibit smoking. Beginning in January 2021, California landlords have the right to restrict or even ban smoking in all or part of their rental premises, common areas and individual units. Therefore, it can be helpful to ask your landlord to intervene.

If you personally approach the neighbor verbally or in writing, be polite. Avoid creating an incident, but make a record. If smoking persists despite the best efforts of the landlord or yours, you may have legal claims such as negligence, harassment, harassment, and even trespassing. A well-written letter from a lawyer to the smoker can help.

If the city in which you live has an ordinance that prohibits or restricts smoking, report the situation to the proper authority or officer.

Q: Two of my co-workers smoke and neither is very considerate. Are you allowed to smoke in the office?

J.S., Anaheim

A: As an employee, you have the right to a workplace free of hazardous, toxic chemicals and smoke. In 1995, California became the first state to ban smoking in the workplace, including public buildings and indoor workplaces. The law has been expanded over time to ban the use of various smoking products in the workplace, such as: B. E-cigarettes, hookahs, cigars, cigarillos and marijuana.

Informative

The Public Health Law Center, in cooperation with the American Lung Association (California), has published an online informational pamphlet on smoking, tenancy and related issues. Type “Tenant Guide to Addressing Second Hand Smoke” into the web browser.

Ron Sokol has been a practicing attorney for over 35 years and has also served many times as a judge, mediator and arbitrator. It is important to remember that this column is a summary of the law and should not be treated or considered as legal advice, much less as a substitute for actual advice from a qualified professional.

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