Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 May 08, 2015 11:26 pm I moved into a place that has a renovated kitchen but I think it was renovated quite a while ago. (The apartment block is old - 1950s I would guess). We have a problem in the kitchen area where we sometimes smell a neighbours cigarettes... I'm thinking it might have something to do with the range hood as we have attempted to seal up any gaps under the sink etc. and sometimes there is a stale tobacco smell when turning on the range hood. We have a flue above the range hood and that silver piping stuff but I can't figure out where the air goes because there is no vent on the outside of the building where it should be. Could the person responsible for the kitchen Reno have installed the flue and piping to the wall and just left it bricked up? Or could it be connected to upstairs apartments hence the smell coming into the kitchen? If this is a recirculating range hood then I assume there would be no flue. Is that correct? We are in Victoria. Re: Range hood mystery 2May 10, 2015 10:57 am Hi Leelah. You will most likely find that all the units run their rangehood ducting into a service duct where they join a communal exhaust duct that is vented to the outside. the problem with this is that smells can then flow between units because they are all connected. What you need to do is install a back draft damper in the ducting after your rangehood. This is like a one way valve that allows the air to be pumped out but prevents smells and fumes coming back. Hopefully that will do the trick. Accessible Carpentry & Cabinets accessiblecarpentry@gmail.com accessiblecarpentry.com.au https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessible-Carpentry-Cabinets/583314911709039 Re: Range hood mystery 4May 11, 2015 9:51 am My son moved into a unit where an Indian girl had lived - she must have loved currys. It took ages to get rid of that smell - especially when the range hood was in use. It seemed as it if had become part of the hood ... I love a curry too. Its gone now but took months. Re: Range hood mystery 5May 11, 2015 5:51 pm Hi Saint Mike, How did you get rid of the smell? Any tips? I've cleaned the filters and done some scrubbing etc. The place has been freshly painted and old carpets and curtains are gone. There's still an old building smell that hits you right as you enter. Honestly I would rather smell paint than smoke or stale old air... Re: Range hood mystery 6May 13, 2015 8:08 pm Leelah Hi Saint Mike, How did you get rid of the smell? Any tips? I've cleaned the filters and done some scrubbing etc. The place has been freshly painted and old carpets and curtains are gone. There's still an old building smell that hits you right as you enter. Honestly I would rather smell paint than smoke or stale old air... Mainly time Leelah. I still feel I can notice it sometimes. But - using the equipment and cooking other things seemed to move it on. Maybe give it a good blast one day - turn fans on and cook something nice. |