Cigarette smells from flat below

[TBLDN]

Hi

So I have been living in my current flat for 10 years. I know that my neighbour below smokes, however luckily I have never smelled this in my flat. Until last week. I suddenly started smelling the cigarette smoke, and it is worst in my bedroom.

It's odd because I am certain it is coming from below, my flat does not adjoin any other neighbours walls and there are no smells in the communal hallway. Definitely not coming from windows.

I started investigating and noticed that one of my floor tiles in my bedroom was punctured. I sealed this thoroughly with brown tape as a temporary measure. Can still smell it.

Sealed the vent that I thought was the culprit in an airing cupboard. Smell hasn't gone.

I then started to think about where the smell is coming from for the 100th time. There really only is one explanation - the floor. We have the exact same layout, there were no smells from any of the cupboards. No smells from the kitchen, bathroom or toilet (separate rooms). They are all on one side of the flat, with the other rooms on the other. The stench is strongest in the bedroom, hallway and living room to a lesser extent. They all have the same flooring, whereas the other rooms have a more sealed laminate flooring. The flooring in the worst effected rooms is a very low budget laminate flooring in the form of tiles, glued onto the bare concrete between us with no underlay. I suspect that the poor quality ceiling tiles in his flat are compromised or now exposed and that is how the smell has managed to penetrate the surface.

Any other explanation? It is really impacting my mental health and sleep, I feel helpless. There are no visible gaps, cracks or holes. I have inspected my small one bedroom flat over and over again and just cannot seem to pinpoint one area where this is coming from.

I have had many issues with this neighbour so approaching him is not an option.

I also have an air purifier running 24/7 in the room and have kept windows open for 3 days in every room, ventilation is ineffective.

 

[foxhole]

Close the windows .

 

[JohnD]

You could try a positive ventilation system. This means running a fan that blows air into your home (the reverse of an extractor fan) and keeping the windows shut. This pushes air out through any gaps.

If you have an extractor fan it will create suction that draws air in.

I gather your floors are concrete so you will not be able to take them up to look for gaps

Gaps in ceilings are usually around pipes and cables, including lighting fittings. You can use expanding foam round pipes, but protect any cables from contact. I use red fire foam which is supposed to block smoke and flame but also works on draughts and smells,

Downlighters are very bad.

Have a look round your skirting boards where there is usually a gap to the flooring. You can clean it out thoroughly with a stiff brush and a hoover followed by detergent, then wiped dry, and use silicone sealant pushed well in, or foam for large gaps. The cleaning is because it will not stick to dirt or dust.

There may be gaps inside and under cupboards or cabinets, especially in kitchens and bathrooms where they are hidden and often ignored by fitters.

Looking on the bright side, heavy smokers tend to die early.

 

[Murdochcat]

Has the flat below had any work done?

 

[helplessowner]

Can you ask somebody else to come in your flat to see whether they can also smell it?
It could be phantosmia - smelling something that is not actually there - and cigarette smoke and/or petrol fumes are two of the commonest.
I had this for several years - nobody else could smell the cigarette smoke, but to me it was very strong in the bedroom and living room, certainly enough to keep me awake and fretful.
Once I discovered that it was my nose/brain making things up it became easier to ignore and gradually stopped; still happens on occasions but not often (lately it is random sniffs of sewerage or gas....).
https://apps.nhslothian.scot/refhelp/guidelines/neurology/phantosmia/

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I have done work on our sewage system, it can get very whiffy if you've got a chamber open and your face right over it. For about 3 days after I'll get random smells of the exact same whiff. It's definitely all in my mind but does seem very real.

Having said that, cigarette smoke is a very pungent smell and I'd guess it probably could get through a floor, especially if it's a house converted into flats rather than a purpose-built flat. Buildings are never completely airtight. It's very likely you can smell it, although you probably have become super-aware so are detecting low levels of it.

We suffered terribly with neighbours burning wood and coal, the smell was always lingering whatever we did. We cured it completely - by moving. Perhaps this could be something to consider, rather than getting wound up about it. It may be a good few years before lung cancer finishes off your neighbour.

 

[^woody^]

If smoke smell is getting between two flats, then that is a failure in the fire compartmentation and hot smoke and flame can get through too.

You need to be talking with the landlord or building owner and their fire-safety risk assessor.