January 2025
It has always been difficult dealing with odour and damage from smoking. Since legalization of cannabis, the situation has gotten worse. Air quality and odour control companies have their hands full dealing with smoking odours of all types in residential building units, hallways and common areas.
Dealing with this problem is expensive and time consuming. Condominium management can be diligent at identifying offenders, enforcing compliance with rules and repairing areas affected by these odours and smoke. Yet this alone won’t eliminate the problem.
Stack Effect and Wind Effect
Stack effect is a natural phenomenon. Warm air rises and escapes through the upper levels of a building. Colder outdoor air enters through openings in the lower parts of the building. This causes drafts, discomfort, increased heating or cooling costs, and odour problems that migrate throughout a building.
Stack effect can be countered by having an effective and efficient HVAC system. As weather and temperature conditions change throughout the year, this system requires adjustments to reflect current weather conditions.
Odour Problems
This rush of wind can blow odours from one side of a building to another. Odours smelled on a balcony or in a unit can originate on the other side of a building on an entirely different floor. This makes it difficult to determine where odours originate.
Smell remains the best way to test for odour problems. Once an originating source is suspected, tests can be taken to confirm the use of tobacco or cannabis in the space. Even then, unit residents can’t be relied on to admit the truth. They will deny smoking or use of cannabis which is why these tests are necessary.
These costs are typically not recoverable even after a resident has been found to be smoking or using cannabis where it is not allowed.
Ultimately, odour issues are not a problem management can resolve. There needs to be effective communication informing residents of proper practices, and how to respond when they identify a neighbour failing to adhere to condo rules. This provides management with the information they require to attempt to resolve an odour problem without expending significant resources.
