While many people don't usually hear about it, apartment and condo dwellers are very often affected by their smoking neighbors. I hear this complaint a few times a week easily. And this problem is actually much more difficult than you think. Here's the problem:

1. You cannot tell someone NOT to smoke in their own home. Unless of course the apartment was a non smoking building before the tenant ever moved in.
2. No buildings are airtight. This means that the smoke is going to find it's way through any openings, cracks in the building, ductwork, holes near plumbing or even through electrical outlets. Attempts at sealing the cracks only provide a partial improvement.
3. Lastly, the use of an air cleaner or air purifier won't guarantee that you'll never smell smoke again. An air cleaner will improve things, sometimes greatly, but they won't put a barrier between the two apartments or condos.

I'm no lawyer, but from what I've heard, legally this entire debate between feuding neighbors usually ends in a stalemate. Unless you are really willing to battle it out in court with the chance of losing, you have two choices.

1. Move out. Simply up and leave. Problem is if you own your condo or townhome, you may find it difficult to sell a place that smells of smoke. There is often a big expense in moving.
2. Employ air cleaning to improve the situation.

So, if you're not willing to move out, there are a few options:

1. Convince your neighbor to get an air cleaner. It needs to be fairly powerful to clean the air quickly enough to make a difference. Again, this is no guarantee no smoke will get into your home, but it CAN make a notable difference. I particularly like the Dynamic Air Cleaner CT500 to put in with the smoker. It's powerful, quiet, looks like a piece of furniture, not some plastic or metal garbage can. Oh yeah, and it's proven to work on smoke.
2. If the neighbor won't cooperate, then in the NON smokers apartment or condo, often you can get by with less expensive equipment. A properly sized ultraviolet air purifier like the Biozone Air Purifier or the Air Oasis Air Purifier can do the trick. They both are effective at removing gases, fumes and most importantly odors from tobacco smoke. The one caution is that they use a slight but safe amount of ozone. So if this is an issue for you, beware. For most, this is not a concern and I am told by my customers that one of these air purifiers is the only thing that has solved their problem. (despite trying many types of air cleaners in the past)

So the good news is that there ARE options. And whether you decide to move or invest in some air cleaning, unfortunately every option has a cost.

Breathe easy…

Dan Buglio