Smoking Neighbor -- Smell Gets into Baby's Room.

Hi A.,

I haven't seen your other responses yet, but my suggestion would be to put a fan in your baby's window, blowing OUT, not INTO her room. Turn it on when you notice the neighbor smoking and turn it off when the air is clear. If the fan in the window is insufficient, put another fan in her doorway pushing air through the room and out the window. So THAT fan is blowing air through her room and outside, NOT bringing air into the room from the rest of the apartment, but pushing the air that comes into her room out the window. That should keep the smoke from reaching her room.

Good luck!
"Grams"
from the Pocono Mts. of PA

I had a neighbor who smoked in the apartment below us. We didn't have kids then, but my husband had asthma that was getting much worse due to the smoke coming up through the floor. I actually did try to respectfully talk to him, but he told me to f off. But he also had a serious drinking problem and no job, so there was a lot going on there.

You could try to talk to your neighbor--but you do run the risk of him then switching from smoking on the balcony to smoking in his place, which as another poster mentioned, would be worse. If you talk to him about it, he *may* start to smoke outside, away from the building. But what about next winter--is he going to keep that up when the weather gets cold?

I would definitely get a good air filter--I can't remember where we got ours--qvc.com I think. You can find ones that filter out most of the particles and chemicals in smoke.

You didn't mention your child's age, but if the filter isn't enough, you could think about switching your child's room with the living room, or some other room (if you have an office, playroom, spare room, etc.) Or, move your child into your room, crib only. I know those aren't ideal solutions, but if it's only temporary, and your child's health is the consideration, you might want to consider it.

I have the same problem with my neighbor and it's frustrating, especially during warm weather! I've bought a pretty good air filter from amazon but I doubt it'll filter out all the harmful chemicals from the cigarettes. My suggestion is to try to buy a filter and see if it helps.

I've also mentioned (loud enough for my neighbor to hear, whom had his window opened while smoking), "Do you smell that? It stinks of smoke!" I know it may not be the most polite thing to do but I suggest taking those steps before going up to the person personally and telling them to direct their smoke somewhere else because you have a baby.

You could try talking to your neighbor. I am a smoker and although I try to be considerate of people when I smoke, I do get tired of people complaining all the time. I will never smoke in your home, car or office. I have no problem going outside to smoke no matter what the weather. And believe me, I have gone outside in some really bad weather to have a cig! And even then, I don't stand near the door so that if you have to enter or exit the building you don't have to walk in my smoke. But if you do come into my "smoking area" for some reason, you are going to breath smoke. Whether you believe it or not, most smokers feel the same way. We have a bad habit. But we also don't want to inconvenience anyone because of it! Talk to your neighbor. Maybe he can find a different place to smoke. Keep in mind though, although most smokers do not want to inconvenience non-smokers, we find that most non-smokers have no problem inconveniencing us! Also, keep in mind it could be worse. He could smoke in his apartment. That would mean, no matter what you do, smoke would filter up to your whole apartment, not just the babies room. He is trying to be a "good neighbor".

To all the non-smokers that feel I am wrong.....don't bother to comment on anything I said here. I will never even see your comments. I probably will never come back to check any replies. So please, save your time and energy.

Wow, that Glo person who said he/she is a smoker really had an issue. Oh well, hope that didn't offend you what that person said. Anyways, the filtering sounds good. I don't believe in selling product but I have to say from someone who has asthma and allergies, there is a purifier that is different from others on the market really got rid of the smoke I had in my kitchen. My stove was on fire!!! Black smoke and everything. My husband put the sanitizer on and we left and came back in two hours and it was gone completely. Yes, I understand you want your daughter to get fresh air but see if you can open other windows and put a pack n play in living room or something where open windows are and that way she'll get the fresh air. I don't feel safe leaving my baby in their bedroom with window open in fear of someone would cut the screen and take the baby. I am paranoid with things like that and I have three boys. So, the place to get the purifier here is the website (www.myvollara.com/rtruax) and what it does is sends out O3 collects particles that are too light to drop and leave O2 in the air. More scientific, I don't do well with. That machine is a great thing for me with allergies, asthma and keeps my place clean. First few times after using it, it cleaned my air and I had to dust alot!!! There was so much junk in the air. Now, I don't need to dust as much, but you may find you dust often with all that smoke coming in. Check it out a see what interest you....I am only thinking for your baby's health and your health!!

My mother has a window fan that she puts in her window for when she is cooking and wants to keep the heat and smoke out (She doesnt have a vent over her stove). The good thing about this fan is the it is reversable. So it can blow air into the kitchen when its hot but when she turns on the reverse switch, it sucks all the smoke out of the kitchen. You can probably find it at any bed bath store, and it is a rectangle shape which is best to fit any window.

Kudos for him for smoking outside. There really is not anything you can
do. Personally, I do not see it as a problem. My husband and myself
were raised in four rooms with two sets of parents that smoked two packs
daily each. Here we are 60 and 67 yo. I do understand that you do not
want you child smelling it, but it is outside so I cannot imagine the impact
being that great. If he was smoking in his apartment, the impact would be
greater since it is contained. Outside is OK.

I think these are good ideas--to get a filter and watch when he is home. Have you been in the apartment long enough to know what the seasonal habits are, or are you just noticing the smell because of the baby? My husband and 1 1/2 year old both have asthma, and the neighbors we share a wall with smoke inside and out. The smell sweats through our basement and creeps in to our side of the house, but that is usually better in the summer. Unfortunately, in the summer they smoke on the shared porch and we have to keep doors and windows closed to try to keep it out. Since it is not a "no smoking" apartment, we can't really say much except try hard to keep the indoor air quality better. I'm hoping there are some other good suggestions here, but I agree that asking a smoker smoking in a smoke-ok apartment to do so elsewhere is a little unfair. Depending on your rental situation (and this would be a desperate solution) you could see if your landlord has any smoke-free areas you could switch to and cite your baby's health as a reason. We can't move away from our neighbors because we have the best situation and landlord we've ever had. Good luck!

Find an air conditioner that allows you to blow the air OUT of the room - I had one; think the brand was Holmes. Use this when your neighbor is smoking.

Well I agree that keeping the fresh air flowing when he's not at home or on the balcony is the answer. You'll just have to keep tabs on him and alter your times it's open accordingly.