Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Aoisagi]

I have a problem in my housing (villa). I think it's a pretty old place and it's in a rural area. What happens is someone is smoking inside and turning on the kitchen or bathroom fan. The result is the smell then comes through my kitchen fan or bathroom fan and into my housing. To get rid of the smell, I have to leave the window open all day - even during the night. I asked my school if they can talk to my landlord about this issue but nothing has happened as of yet.

I've heard that all it takes is to change the fans since they may be old. Is this a maintence problem? Anyone be in this situation before?

I hate coming home and either a) be freezing cold or b) arrive to a place that smells like cigarette.

Please advise.

[hellofaniceguy]

I had the same problem and ended up moving...cigarette smell is nasty.
People who smoke cigarettes reek of stink, bad breath, house stinks, clothes stink,...a nasty habit. Hair smells, etc...
Many cigarette smokers in korea....non smokers have not a chance.

[Aoisagi]

The lease for my house still has about 4 1/2 months on it. I don't think I have the option of moving out until then. Surely there must be a solution to fix the fans?

[hapigokelli]

I had this problem, I just left my bathroom fan on all day to counteract the other apartment's fan. The worst part was that whenever anyone in the building took a shower, the steam would pour into my bathroom and apartment. You could ask your landlord if you can move into another apartment in the same building. That's what I did, problem solved

[Aoisagi]

Ah I see. I live in a villa maybe 3-4 floors. I'll see if it's possible to move to another room.

[nathanrutledge]

I used to come into my bathroom and I could smell the decaying flesh from the next apartment over. I'd pour bleach down the drain, baking soda, vinegar, you name it, and it would help, but not for long. I ended up putting a plastic sheet over the drain. I'd remove it to shower, then put it back when I was done.

That's probably the best thing to do here. Either run the fan constantly, which creates a positive pressure and wouldn't let the smoke come in, or put some plastic over the vent. I'd try the plastic, see if the smell goes away. If it doesn't, then it's NOT just coming from the vent. Korean HVAC/plumbing leaves a lot to be desired. My vent vents into the cabinet. How nice.

[Aoisagi]

When you say put some plastic over the vent, do you mean tape a plastic bag over it? The smell would then go in the bag? I got a bunch of these plastic bags but I put it flat against the fan. I put some plastic over the kitchen fan and taped it but I don't think it helped much.

[nathanrutledge]

Yeah, a plastic bag or plastic sheeting, something to seal the vent to make it airtight.

The key is to make the apartment airtight. If the place is airtight, no smell can come in. If you think it's the vent, seal the vent. If the smell still comes in, find where it's coming from and seal that. Just keep sealing stuff until it stops. In my experience, it will come in from vents in the kitchen or bathroom, and floor drains. I don't think Korean drains have P traps in them, which is why really nasty smells can come from the drains (no water seal to prevent the gases from coming in).

If you tried it and it didn't work, are you sure that it is 100% sealed? If so, check around the vent hose where it exits the apartment. Is that area sealed? If it isn't, get some caulking, seal that crack up. Just keep on searching for holes to fill (heheh).

[Aoisagi]

Thanks for the reply. When I used the plastic sheets, I don't think it was closed air tight. I'll be sure to give it a try when I go home. Will just one sheet of plastic work? Did you use tape to seal the outside of the plastic? When I taped it, I only taped the 2 ends so for sure, it wasn't air tight.

I am fairly certain the smell is only coming through the vents.

[nathanrutledge]

You should be fine with a single plastic bag. Make sure to use duct tape, this is SPECIFICALLY what it is designed for. Seal it 100%. ANY air leaking through and you'll smell it.

[Aoisagi]

Ah use duct tape. Thanks for the tips!

[northway]

I live in a newer building and it sucks in the kimchi smell from my neighbor's apartment.

[Aoisagi]

I was thinking instead of putting a plastic covering over the vent, would putting duct tape over it instead be better?

[nathanrutledge]

No. You want to be able to open the vent if YOU need to use it. Plastic is fine, the duct tape will seal it on the sides. Don't tape the whole vent, it's a waste of tape and won't do anything else for you.

[Aoisagi]

Alright thanks. I'll be sure to try it out once I get some duct tape. I live in a pretty rural area. There are 3 grocery stores here. I hope finding some duct tape won't be a problem.