Stinky Neighbor - Please help!
I own half a brownstone — the upper half. The bottom half is owned by a person of retirement age that is, well, stinky. In the time I’ve lived here, I’ve never heard a vacuum cleaner or anything like it coming from downstairs. I’ve never seen a window open to ventilate the space in any…
I own half a brownstone — the upper half. The bottom half is owned by a person of retirement age that is, well, stinky. In the time I’ve lived here, I’ve never heard a vacuum cleaner or anything like it coming from downstairs. I’ve never seen a window open to ventilate the space in any way. When I’ve needed access to the back of the building, I need to go through this person’s apartment, my eyes start to tear because the odor is so intense. Piles of clothes are strewn all over and the dust is thick as snow.
My motto is live and let live. As long as I don’t know this person is there, I don’t care. So that was the modus operandi until recently, where I performed a year-long gut renovation.
During the renovation, the odor from downstairs would leach into the construction space as the floors and walls were open and exposed for plumbing and electrical work. However, now although they’re all closed, pressurized odoriferous air is leaching through any/every crack and crevice into my brand new living space. I’m at my wits end — and as I’ve shouted about it bothering me, my neighbor (obviously overhearing my loud frustration) has decided to use some sort of potent air freshener (like carpet fresh-pet odor eliminator). Now we’re inundated with the air freshener ingredient which has made the situation worse because I seem to be allergic to it. A week will then pass, the air freshener will fade and the stank odor will return.
I desperately need to solve this problem. What I can’t understand is why the air coming from my neighbor’s living space is under so much pressure to force its way through every crack and crevice into my place — I mean it even comes through cracks in the floor, cracks in the staircase risers, gaps between kitchen cabinets and trim. It’s crazy and it, literally, stinks!
How can I get relief other than 1) wearing a face mask, 2) telling my neighbor to pick up some new living space hygiene practices?
My idea is to put in some roof vents to let pressurized air from the inner wall spaces along the parapet walls to escape, thus lowering the inner wall air pressure and preventing so much leaching of air through the cracks/gaps in my living space floors and walls and cabinetry.
Any/all suggestions are welcome!
Thanks in advance!
-G
I have read all the comments and not yet have found the answer to your problem. I am having the same problem. My condo stinks off and on all the time. The upstairs bathroom is the worst of them all and I have had to close the door and not use my bathroom any longer. Anywhere there is cracks or open wall to the pipes this smell is coming into my place. I dont know how to fix this. I have talked to many people yet no one seems to know the solution. I can talk to my neighbour about it but what is she suppose to do? stop cooking all together? She has every right to do anything she wants in her own place. Unfortunatly I am getting the negative discusting smell from next door because of what ever the case is. So if anyone has a valuable solution to stop the smell from entering my place please tell. I would love to know.
Speak to her, if that doesn’t work wait until she leaves for work, and remember “Water always seeks the lowest level”
I personally think it’s very odd, and definitely not commendable, that someone would sacrifice their own home and quality of life, because they believe in “live and let live”. I wonder if your neighbors, who do not live in your building or belong to your coop, feel the same way. As president of your coop you have a responsibility to properly maintain the property, not condone and allow such a serious problem to continue to fester which will eventually affect neighbors beyond the one other person in your coop. You make it very clear that you are willing to incur huge costs to allow this person to continue with their lifestyle but are you willing to be sued in the future by your next door neighbors? You do not want to involve outside parties but if this is allowed to conintue you will eventually end up on the other end of a law suit by some very irate neighbors who do not believe in “live and let live” when it has adverse effects on their quality of life and home. It was thinking like yours that eventually led to me and another owner being displaced from our homes for many months and the City wanting to condemn several units all because the woman beneath me was allowed to “live and let live”!! GET REAL! As an owner and president of your coop, you have an obligation to properly maintain the property.
We had a family who lived down the hall from us in our coop who were eventually paid money to move out of the building. There was an odor issue for years due to 1) elderly grandma who was becoming incontinent and no one was cleaning up after her 2) alcoholic son who holed up in his room and smoked all day 3) “enabler” wife of the son who seemed totally normal but clearly was not dealing with the horrible state of her apt. 4) 2 teenage boys who just added to the mess. The pictures I saw of the apt. that were taken when the coop finally took them to court were unbelievable! Anyway, after several visits from Health Dept, coop dealing with lawyers, etc. eventually the family was taken to court and PAID to move out. Good news: grandma was put in a nursing home where she could be taken better care of. Hopefully the rest of the family was able to buy something with the money they made… You may need to call health dept. and lawyers. It took years to get these people out (which finally after much careful deliberation and sensitivity to all their issues proved to be the only solution to the problem), so start now!
You have to identify the bad smell if you can. Or have someone else ID it. Dead animals, rotting garbage, sewage, mold, body odor, etc… Venting, caulking, & talking are only going to be helpful if you can discover the source.
More answers to continued questions:
I looked the hoarding informational website link provided, and could say that this person may have similar habits to this disorder, but again, only an expert could make such a determination.
No, this person is not a relative or personal friend.
Once again, thanks for all the comments to date. We’re taking all the ideas and suggestions into consideration and will be taking a variety of actions soons
-G
I hate to sound so negative and pessimistic but the only way to deal with this problem is by addressing and eliminating the source of the problem. Installing barriers and vents will only slow down the inevitable which will eventually need to be dealt with. I would take the advice of 4:51 and if that does not work call the Health Department, the City and any and all governmental agencies telling them that environmental issues are involved and you think this person might have a mental illness. Let them deal with her. Environmental concerns and mice/roach infestation cannot and should not be ignored. Sooner or later your area will become infested and environmentally unsafe no matter how many barriers and/or vents you construct and install. This concerns your health, quality of life and yes a major investment. The person who lived beneath me also appeared very normal in public but she still had a mental illness that allowed her to destroy her home and mine by living the way she chose to live. Start to seriously think of ways to protect your health and home and not be so worried about causing trouble with this neighbor. I find it extremely strange that you are willing to go to such lengths and incur such costs to allow this person to continue to destroy your home, quality of life, investment and possibly health. I’m sorry but I think there’s much more to the story than you are telling. Is this neighbor a relative? Also, what happens when this problem eventually spreads to the home next to yours, which it will in time. Do you think at that point, those homeowners will not hold you responsible in some way also?
Sounds like your neighbor may be a hoarder. This is a psycological condition that is not unusual and often spirals out of control after years of being hidden from most people in the world. The website below has a full list of resources related to hoarding.
http://www.childrenofhoarders.com/NY.php
Cornell Medical College also has medicare mental health providers that specialize in hoarding. Contact them explain your problem and see what they suggest
I had a problem with a smell in my place, it turned out to be a vent stack that stopped short of the roof, capped it and the smell went away.
Take some humidity readings, get a laser style non-contact thermometer, and a small anemometer from graingers and do some enviro sleuthing. Maybe you will find that hidden source of incoming stinky air.