154 posts tagged with smoke.
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How to reduce the smell of smoke from a recent house fire?
So we had an extremely small house fire last night (apparently spontaneous combustion in mulch is a real thing!) and we’re all fine, but a significant amount of smoke made it inside & now the house smells of smoke and ash.
We have an informal party planned for tonight, with 10 or 20 people coming over. What can we do in the next 7 hours to reduce the smell of smoke inside?
So, for things you can't launder, what gets rid of cigarette stink?
Is Febreeze really the shit? I'll pay money to make this smell go away. [more inside]
Is the exhaust smelling air when you wait for airplane takeoff bad?
1: does airplane exhaust have lead in it?
2: would a N95 filter out lead fumes?
3: any studies or thoughts about the experience of slightly exhaust smelling air for 10 minutes before takeoff during taxi? I know in the 90s I would smell exhaust all the time in cars but now it’s so rare it’s surprising to me.
Reschedule furniture delivery due to air quality/smoke?
My elderly relative needs help deciding if she should reschedule a furniture delivery for tomorrow due to the wildfire smoke and poor air quality. She is worried that either her furniture will smell like smoke or the delivery men will and therefore her small home will end up smelling like smoke or she will be exposed to unhealthy particles.
Is this likely or does she not need to worry? [more inside]
How worried should I be for my cats with air quality over 400?
I don’t have air conditioning, so there is no airflow or filtering happening. I’m not sure what else I can do to help. I’ll be gone for work for 3 days and I have to leave my cats, and I don't have much time or money to improve the situation. [more inside]
It's not for a grow op, really
A single cigarette is being smoked. Would a cylinder-type carbon filter with an inline fan be sufficient to capture the burn and the exhalation, and how effective would it be in capturing the odour? Links inside. [more inside]
We didn't start the fire! Oven fire smoke smell making me ill.
I live in an apartment with a convention oven/microwave combo. Last Thursday, it overheated and shut down when I was trying to cook some food. This left an acrid 'electrical' smell in the place that is triggering my asthma something fierce if I'm in there for more than 10 mins at a time. I'm out of there now, catsitting, but that ends tomorrow. The repair person verified that I used the oven correctly.
I'm working with building management, I have Renter's Insurance, and I am in the city of Seattle, WA. [more inside]
Is there a better explanation than... smokin' ghost?
Two non-smokers; we bought our house in 2015 and have lived here smoke free since then. Certain rooms of the house sometimes smell like cigarettes. Today, my wife's blouse smelled like cigarettes. What's up? [more inside]
Dealing with cigarette smell from prior tenant
After living in my new apartment a couple months, I’m pretty sure that the prior tenants were smokers. The smell was barely noticeable at first (and mitigated by fresh paint and new carpet), but I just got back from a week away without the AC running, and now all my clothes smell like stale cigarette smoke. Is an air purifier enough to deal with this? Or since it’s not active smoking from somewhere do I need something more?
Cigarette smoke odour solutions
My neighbours are chain smokers and their smoke drifts into and gets trapped in my apartment. They have a habit of smoking in a closed room right under my bedroom throughout the night (literally until 6-7am), which wakes me up repeatedly and makes me ill. They have started using something to cover up the odour, which I appreciate, but whatever they're using makes me dizzy, nauseated, and short of breath. [more inside]
Why do my vape pens break so easily?
Over the past 18 months, I’ve bought two $70-$90 APX Vape pens from my local smoke shop in TX. I even sent them back to get fixed after they broke the first time and they broke again. [more inside]
A/C unit compatible with air filter?
Is there such a thing as a Portable A/C unit that is compatible with a MERV-13 or higher air filter? Our apartment has no A/C, but we had to keep windows closed all weekend due to air quality, and it was quite overheated inside. We'd like to kill two birds with one (cool-to-the-touch) stone...
How to deal with side effects of neighbor's pot use
One of my neighbors has started smoking pot in their bathroom for multiple hours a day, every day. Prolonged exposure to smoke triggers nausea, vomiting, anxiety, and sometimes full blown anxiety attacks. I've reached a point where I want to communicate to them that their usage is causing me physical distress. What do I do? [more inside]
How worried should I be about secondhand smoke and Covid-19?
My neighbors keep smoking and I can smell it. Is it unsafe for me to be outside while they do that? [more inside]
Air purifier for cigarette smoke
My top floor apartment has central heating and cooling through floor air vents. Unfortunately, my neighbors are chain smokers and there's a regular supply of cigarette smoke coming into my apartment and I don't want to die of secondhand smoke. [more inside]
Apartment smells like smoke
My new neighbors smoke inside constantly. What can I do to make the smell in my apartment less strong? [more inside]
Help my skin is angry
Extended heat and smoke conditions have caused an eczema flare-up. How do I get my skin to calm down? [more inside]
How to remove cigarette smoke smell from books
My dad inherited some books recently from a friend who was a heavy smoker. Some of them my dad intends to keep and others he'd like to add to local Little Free Libraries, but they all need to be de-odorized first. None of the books are valuable or vintage. They're mostly paperbacks and several are big, Robert Caro-style 1200-page volumes. I've seen a few deodorizing techniques online but people report varying levels of success. What's worked for you?
Should I change my air purifier filter more often during fire season?
I have a Coway air purifier with a HEPA filter. I replaced the filter a month ago. It's fire season and I live in a very smoky part of the Bay Area, in an older apartment with very non-airtight windows and doors. Should I be replacing my HEPA filter more often than once/year? Trying to find recommendations from sources who know what they're talking about, and do not gain financially from me buying more filters. [more inside]
Window air conditioner that filters out cigarette smoke etc.?
We live in a ground floor apartment and our only windows face a walkway where people like to gather to smoke cigarettes and sometimes use as a toilet. [more inside]
Wildfire preparedness
I live in a downtown urban centre in a small city surrounded by a forests susceptible to fire. This will be my first full fire season in this area. I live in a condo downtown, so it's relatively unlikely that I would need to evacuate, but as we know, anything can happen. What should I get now so that I am prepared for this year and not battling everybody else in stores/online in an already stressed world? [more inside]
Best cleaner for getting (fire) smoke smell out of wooden furniture?
I bought some wood furniture in a literal fire sale. No direct damage, but the furniture was exposed to smoke so it has a distinct campfire-mixed-with-a-bit-of-chemical odour. I've used vinegar and water once, and left it outside for 2 days, but it still smells somewhat. Any other cleaner you recommend? (The wood has a finish on it and looks like oak.)
Smoke alarms in basement
I’m a first time home owner. My basement has furnace, water heater, and laundry (all gas powered) and the electrical panel. Should I put a smoke alarm in my basement? If so, how will I be able to hear it in the middle of the night? My bedroom is in the finished attic 3 floors up.
air purifier with air quality monitoring
i want two air purifiers that filter the bejesus out of two spaces (300 sq ft, 600 sq ft) when the air is sooty or pollen-y or otherwise spare the air day-y. [more inside]
Our apartment sustained fire damage. Can/should our textiles be saved?
Our next door neighbor's apartment went up in flames a week ago. It started from his ancient air conditioner, and our entire apartment is now covered in disgusting black soot. Every single item we own now has an acrid burnt-plastic smell. [more inside]
Is A Hookah Lounge What I Want?
Mefites in the United States, what are hookah lounges like? I'm wondering if a hookah lounge would be something that would fill my longing to go smoke the occasional cigarette or other smoking material. Details after the jump. [more inside]
Need N99 face masks for family in CA
I'm traveling to Oakland to see family over Thanksgiving. I want to either bring or ship N99 face masks to distribute because the smoke is so bad. [more inside]
Best way to get fresh air?
I'm in the Bay Area, where the smoke from wildfires may continue to make the air outside unhealthy for an indefinite amount of time. I live in a tiny studio apartment that was recently built (a freestanding cottage) and is extremely airtight, which is good for keeping smoke out, but I'm wondering about fresh air. [more inside]
Forest Fire Smoke Protection
Where are good sources to learn about smoke, that aren't just ads for masks?
Do you have any opinions to share about types of masks, or indoor air filters?
How similar is smog (say, in Beijing) and smoke from a forest fire? [more inside]
I'm one of those pesky "sensitive groups."
I live in San Francisco. What else can this asthmatic do with unhealthy air quality from the Camp Fire? [more inside]
How to prepare for wildfire smoke in Seattle?
I'm moving to Seattle soon and after this past summer, I'm concerned about air quality issues due to wildfires. What can I do to prepare myself? [more inside]
Neighbor's weed usage is waking me up due to the smell. Help!
My upstairs neighbor has started smoking weed in their bathroom on a regular basis. This often seems to happen in the middle of the night, and unfortunately it wakes me up and sends me to the bathroom to dry heave, which is the worst place to go because that is where the smell is coming down into on the first place! My fancy air filters don't help and neither does febreeze. What else can I do when I sense the onset? Tonight the smell is so thick I am considering going to my office across town to sleep in peace, so immediately implementable solutions are very welcome.
Can you help guide us with post-fire cleaning ?
We had a fire and everything is heavily smoke damaged. What can we try to salvage on our own? What can we expect from cleaning companies? Difficulty level: 1-year old baby. [more inside]
CA wildfires and smoke conditions
California wildfires: Is there any way to predict how likely wildfires similar to 2017 will be during 2018? [more inside]
Hardwired fire alarms are so sensitive we can't make dinner. Help!
I'm living in a brand-new house with brand-new hardwired fire alarms (this model, I think). The one in the living room - a good 20 feet from the kitchen - goes off almost every single time we cook. [more inside]
Cleaning nicotine from an acrylic on canvas painting?
I picked up a painting at Value Village recently. It appears to be acrylic on canvas. It is a hearty winter scene of lumberjacks in the woods -- nothing special, I just like it. There is plenty of snow, and lots of white clouds, all of which is quite brown with nicotine. Now -- how do I clean this painting, and restore it to its original appearance? [more inside]
Should we cancel our Montana vacation due to the wildfires and smoke?
My partner and I are planning to spend a little over a week in Missoula, Glacier National Park, and the Columbia Falls/Whitefish area starting this Saturday, 8/12. Our plans include a lot of outdoor activities, but I'm increasingly worried about the air quality. Is it still worth going on the trip? [more inside]
PNW smoke forecast?
Should we cancel our outdoor activity-based trip to the PNW next week? [more inside]
The Air Is Hot and Full of Smoke
Not used to extreme bad air conditions. Looking for useful coping mechanisms -- somehow I don't think those paper masks would make a difference, but maybe? [more inside]
Smoke Detector - False Positives, Nuisance Alarms
Wondering if anyone else has heard that arc-fault circuit breaker + wired smoke alarms = more false alarms? [more inside]
Where there isn't smoke there isn't fire
What is up with my smoke alarm? It chirps once every 12 hours or so; upon hushing it it's fine. Just the one smoke alarm and I did change the battery. [more inside]
Gifted iPhone 5 reeks of cig smoke -- what to do?
What it says above -- I was recently given a free, older iPhone 5 and the previous owner was a smoker. I'm not crazy about the phone, but it was a thoughtful gift; however, the phone reeks of cigarette smoke. And I'm allergic. I've only had it a day and just holding the phone for a few minutes sets off sneezing fits, my bag now smells of smoke, my hands. [more inside]
Is my new housemate smoking indoors?
My new housemate smokes. He is supposed to smoke outside exclusively, however bits of our house still smell of smoke. I've never seen him smoke indoors but we are often in separate rooms. Is the smell normal or is he smoking indoors sometimes? He has lived here for 3 weeks so far.
Smoke detector is keeping me from cooking in my new apartment
I just moved into a new apartment and am having trouble with my smoke detector. Should I get a new one, or is there another fix? [more inside]
Residual Smoke Detection
What can I do to measure the amount of residual smoke before and after a tenant's occupation? [more inside]
Oregon is burning. Where can I go to be in the least smoke?
Hi all - as you may or may not know, there are tons of forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. Today, Portland, OR was inundated with a ton of smoke. As someone with asthma, it's been pretty tough to handle. Where can I drive to be in an area with less smoky conditions? More below the fold. [more inside]
I smelt it, but sadly, I didn't dealt it.
How can I get hidden and entrenched cigarette smoke out of a room? [more inside]
Matag Gas Oven Won't Clean Completely
We have a Maytag Gas Range/Oven that is about four years old, and it seems that a large food-stuff that got in the vents to a place where we can't clean it. Every time we use the oven it smokes up the house, and sometimes there's even flame coming in the left rear vent. I can't figure out how to open the oven box up from either the inside or bottom, and so figure the only option is self-cleaning which hasn't worked. So, have we just not self-cleaned long enough? Or is there a way through to the burners so I can clean it by hand? [more inside]
Can my SF landlord evict a tenant under these circumstances?
My roommate got very drunk, put some chicken in a covered pot on the stove to reheat, and fell asleep. I woke up to an acrid-smelling room (my room is on the other side of the house from the kitchen) and the hallway smoke detector going off. She could have easily started a serious fire (she didn't wake up when the alarm went off, and when I woke her up, she initially didn't even remember that she'd put something on the stove). Even though she didn't burn the kitchen down, the house smells TERRIBLE. Like possibly uninhabitably terrible. Can my landlord evict her for this? Can he make her pay for any necessary smoke removal services? What are MY rights here? Mostly I want her gone, but if that's not possible...? We are in a rent-controlled apartment in SF, and each of the roomates is on a separate lease (not month to month).
Which smoke detector's battery of 6 is defective?
In my house I have 6 smoke detectors. At least one started going off in the middle of the night to remind me to change the battery. I changed the one I thought was low, and after a repeat performance next night, changed the batteries in all the others. In my house with high ceilings, this is a big deal involving risky ladders in awkward positions. One is still sounding in the night. AARGH! How do I find the one that is still complaining? [more inside]