Tom
I have never heard such a thing..
False. You cant walk 5 ft without sniffing cigarettes. Worst is when you see the many youngsters doing it.
The best are the ones that eat well, go to the gym but.. Wait.. Smoke packs a day.
But about smoke going up into another apartment thru the floor? There must be holes. Can you hear them down there? Maybe it`s coming from somewhere else? Interesting scenario I must say ...... smoke from their bedroom? Can`t you just tell them you can ALSO hear them in their bedroom, and then maybe they` ll move out?
There are no holes that we can visibly see...but its gotta be coming from somewhere.
Their living room is below our second bedroom, so all the smoking goes on in there.
Its nice to get everbodys input, but somebody always has to write something cheeky.
OP, you have two choices,
1. Move
2. Put up and live with it
Why? Its a numbers game.
Landlords want tenants who will pay rent, stay for long time, not mess the place up etc etc. On the basis that when someone leaves an apartment they have pay a hefty cleaning fee and repaint walls etc anyway, not many landlords will outcast a large portion of the market.
Now, I know you are thinking why should I put up with it? Because somebody else will.
The pool of people who dislike smoking is not small. But its not huge. The pool of people who dislike smoking to the point that they refuse to function, want complete smoke free environments, moan about smokers in every area of life be it in residence, public transport, train stations, parks etc are a small pool of people, and its simply not worth pandering to them.
The neighbours arent doing anything wrong. They are smoking, in apartment, that they too pay a lot of money for. It is a structural issue, and it is very unlikely to be fixed.
I never said that they were doing anything wrong in their own home, i really just want some advice on how to get it fixed.
Its not okay to have to deal with this problem. If people smoke outside or in a bar fair enough i have to put up with the smoke, but i shouldnt have to in my own house. I dont smoke, nor do i want to.
Yes, they probably do pay alot of money to live there also, but as far as i know they dont have any problems. They live on the ground floor, so no issue for people living below them.
It is absolutely a structural issue......
Your room with window above their kitchen, if you open that window do you smell smoke?
When you smell the smoke in your bedroom, close the bedroom door and ensure the windows are firmly closed. Then open the valve on the oxygen cylinder. This will increase the air pressure in the bedroom slightly and force the smoke back whence it came.
This not only will remove the smell of smoke, when the oxygen reaches the burning cigarettes they will burn brightly and possible burst into flames...
http://www.mieterverband.ch/fileadmi...ietwohnung.pdf
Here the relevant text (feel free to translate)
In the meantime, try to seal all the cracks between the walls, floors, and baseboards. Electrical outlets are also a common place for air to leak. Of course, ask your landlord to do this first, and if he refuses, then take matters into your own hands. Maybe hire a professional so it is done 'professionally' and you don't get dinged for damages/modifications when you move out. It would be a good idea to consult with the Mieterverband about how to carry out this 'sealing' process.
The problem in our place was with the front door to the shared hallway. We applied weather-stripping all around the door, a door sweep, and then used caulk to seal around the baseboards. It made a huge difference. Went from smelling like someone was smoking in our apartment, to only having the smoke smell when we opened our door.
Good luck, and I hope you can find a way to prevent the smoke from entering your apartment.
I remember our chemistry-teacher throwing a burning cigarette into a jar filled with oxygen: impressive.
I wouldn't want to be in the same house with somebody lighting up in a pure oxygen atmosphere.....
But my point remains. The neighbours may try and smoke in kitchen, but why should they. Personally, I smoke outside anyway, most of the time, but I would never entertain a request from my neighbour to smoke somewhere else in my apartment.
The landlord may say he will have a look, speak to neighbours or whatever, but if this is a structural issue he is not going to fix it in any hurry if at all. HE may, but I would say it is very unlikely. He will see how long you put up with it, and you wil either do that or move, and he will replace you with one of the 30 people in the que. The cycle will repeat until no one wants the place because of smell of smoke, which will never happen.
Its unfortunate for those who have been conditioned enough to really detest smoke, as its so popular in many forms that you create yourselves so much stress and frustration.
I can understand why you think its not ok, but I also think from a practical stand point, that it will have to be if you are not prepared to move as your fighting a high probable losing battle.
I've lived through being bombarded with cigarette smoke in my home and feeling helpless about making it stop. It is very stressful and heartbreaking. OP, you really have my sympathies and I hope you can find a solution.
Option 3, which I think the Op wants to do, is to try and get something done about it.
As PaddyG said - this is not a smoking issue - this is a structural issue and the Op has every right to try and get it put right. If we just put up or shut up - then nothing will ever change.
Mabye you are right and it may be a fruitless exercise - but if it were me I would at least challenge it. At least if nothing comes of it, you can be satisfied with having tried.
OK, so if your kitchen is above their kitchen, do you have a window in that room if so, can you smell their smoke when you open that window, ie if they are smoking in their kitchen, one would assume you would smell the smoke from there? - that is the room where you said they had agreed to smoke, but you say they are smoking in their living room