Question: I was scrolling the internet to get a solution to the marijuana smell problem in my semi-detached house. The neighbour tenant lady smokes weed and I can notice it coming in my kitchen area, which shares a common wall with her. It is coming from an electrical outlet that is very near the common wall, but is on a wall perpendicular to the common wall. I tried putting a foam barrier inside, but still has no effect on stopping it. Whenever my air conditioner runs, the smell comes from the gas fireplace, via the air coming next to the gas supply line space. The fireplace is not on the common wall side. I am not sure how it travels that far. I have a basement in my house and never noticed a smell in the basement.
Please advise what might be the possible cause of this at these two places. I would be really indebted to you.
A. Grewal, Southern Ontario
Answer: Stopping smoke odours from entering your semi-detached home may be tricky, unless you invest in an expensive air purifier system. A better approach may be to discuss the issue with the offending neighbour, who may be willing to change their habits and smoke outside or in a well vented room away from your dwelling.
For decades, lingering odours from cigarette, pipe, and cigar smoking entering attached dwellings has been a constant struggle for non-smokers. With the recent legalization of cannabis, that can now be compounded with strong smells from smoking marijuana, which can be equally or more offensive. There has been significant research into the harmful effects of second hand tobacco smoke, which can be used to justify a request for behavioural changes from neighbours. As far as I know, that is not the case with cannabis, at least not yet. To compound the issue, in several Provinces it is illegal to smoke cannabis products outside of one’s property, potentially making your problem worse.
I am not sure of the effectiveness of the small, stand-alone air purifiers available for retail purchase, but that may be a wise place to start. Placing it in an area where you are smelling the skunky smoke biproducts may help reduce the intensity of the odours. Buying a model with a good filter, possibly a replaceable charcoal type, should help negate the problem. If that does not work, investigation into a more commercial-grade model may be the next step, but that could get costly. Some units may be installed inside your heating ducts, or near the furnace, which would also require hiring an HVAC technician.
A better approach may be to employ a social rather than mechanical solution. Politely talk to the neighbour, explain the dilemma, and see if a more equitable solution may be found that will not overly inconvenience either party. It is likely that the neighbour has no idea that this is an issue for you, and may be willing to help minimize the impact on your home. An easy solution may be for the woman to smoke outside the building, where the odours will quickly be dissipated before entering your house. If your homes have patios or balconies, that could be a simple, yet effective, solution. If that is not possible, asking her to smoke in a room as far away as possible from your dwelling, preferably with the window open, may yield some relief. Also, if she turns on her kitchen range hood and/or bathroom exhaust fans before she sparks up, that should lower the air pressure in her home and help redirect a considerable amount of the smoke particles and odours outside of the building.
Try to avoid a confrontational or accusatory tone when starting this task. Perhaps an invitation to your home for coffee would be an ideal premise to start the conversation. Or an occasion to offer assistance or a favour when you meet outside the building. Help her carry in groceries, shovel her sidewalk, sweep snow of her car windshield, or any of a host of other common courtesies may help you broach the difficult subject of her annoying habit. You may be surprised by her willingness to help, but caution should be taken to avoid the opposite reaction. Insisting that she acquiesce to your demands to immediately change her behaviour can be met with a stubborn rejection, which may be difficult to reverse once initiated.
If the neighbour does take a completely contrary approach to your situation, despite your most benign request attempts, there may be little you can do. There are many people who believe that their home is their castle and that they live there in isolation, despite being directly attached to your home. Hopefully, that will not be the situation in your case, but no guarantees of success are given.
Trying to seal up your home from offensive cannabis smoke odours from your next-door neighbour may be somewhat fruitless, unless you invest in a costly air purification system. Otherwise, a polite conversational approach may be your best bet for relief from the problem, which will require a willing behavioural change from her to smoke in a location that will not draw the odours into your home.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and a Registered Home Inspector (RHI)(cahpi.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
