Causes of Odor in Kitchens,Bathrooms,and Toilets of Multi-story Residential Apartments with Natural Ventilation

The causes of an offensive odor in the kitchens,bathrooms,and toilets of residential apartments in multi-story buildings with natural ventilation in Tomsk,Russia,are discussed in this paper.This problem exists in other cities and countries.Wall electric fans can be installed in ventilation grills in kitchens,bathrooms,and toilets of apartments in multi-story residential buildings.Typically,these fans turn on with the light in the bathroom or toilet,so the problem is periodic.Forced airflow from a fan in one apartment disrupts the natural outflow of air in the ventilation system of a residential building designed and built according to building codes and regulations and can cause an unpleasant smell in neighboring apartments.In many cases,it is difficult to determine which apartments have fans and force the neighbors to remove them.Locally,on the scale of one apartment,the problem is solved by installing an air check valve in the ventilation grill,which will block the nuisance airflow from the ventilation system into the bathroom.Globally,the problem is solved by modification and subsequent compliance with building codes and regulations,the implementation of which is controlled by local authorities.