If the hood in the apartment does not work, this seriously impairs the quality of life of the household. Mold grows in the house, there is constant dampness, and the air becomes musty. This, in turn, provokes allergic reactions and other pathologies of the respiratory system. It is possible and necessary to deal with the problem.
Checking the ventilation in the apartment
The ventilation system is a public communication that extends through all the floors of the house. Therefore, the management company is responsible for maintenance and performance. Its representatives, in accordance with legislative norms, are obliged to check the capacity of ventilation ducts twice a year. If there are any problems with ventilation in an apartment building, specialists eliminate them with the help of professional equipment.
If you suspect that the ventilation system is not working, you can not wait for the masters, but do a small check yourself. You need to act as follows:
- Open a window in the kitchen.
- Bring a thin cloth to the ventilation grill. With good traction, the paper should stick to the net. If this does not happen, air exchange in the room is impaired - ventilation does not work.
Instead of a thin sheet of napkin, you can use a lighter flame. It is enough to bring it to the ventilation grill. If the light stretches towards the shaft, it means that the ventilation is working properly. When the flame burns evenly, there is a suspicion of a malfunction of the ventilation ducts.
Causes of malfunction of the ventilation system
The ventilation system in an apartment building is based on the principle of connecting vessels. A horizontal shaft extends from each apartment, which then cuts into a common vertical channel. Further along it, the exhaust air rises up in a natural powerful flow and leaves through a pipe on the roof into the atmosphere. With serviceable horizontal ducts in each apartment, the total air flow in the vertical duct has a good speed. If one horizontal shaft fails, this does not affect the overall riser. But if several ventilation systems in several apartments do not work, this already seriously reduces the power of the air flow in the vertical riser. All residents of the entrance will suffer.
If the ventilation in the house does not work, there may be several reasons for this.
- Blockage. This is the most common reason. More often in the mines of the ventilation system, street litter is found in the form of leaves, dry branches. They come in from the side of the roof. Sometimes experts remove dead birds and mice from the ventilation ducts. Frequent garbage in the ventilation ducts is construction. He gets there because of the laziness of the builders who carry out repairs in neighboring apartments or because of the old age of the house. Over time, the building shrinks, the walls of the shaft crack, small bricks and other pebbles remain in the exhaust system.
- Violations during repair work. Often, neighbors independently carry out illegal redevelopment in the kitchen, which provokes a change in the direction of the ventilation shaft. Violations during repair work include the installation of an overly powerful cooker hood or fans. They create an air flow of over 1000 m3 / h.This technique will inevitably disable the ventilation systems of neighboring apartments.
- Sealed plastic windows without micro-ventilation function. In order for the ventilation system to work fully, fresh air must be provided to the apartment. Unfortunately, the sealed plastic frames do not allow this to be fully implemented. The same can be said for dense doorways with a gap of less than 15 mm on the floor side.
- Poor heating. Lack of warm air in the room makes cold air masses stagnate in the apartment. Warm air rises up towards the ventilation shaft. Its absence is equal to a violation of the air exchange.
If the apartment has poor ventilation, you need to urgently take measures to restore normal air exchange.
How to fix the problem
First of all, it is important to pay attention to window frames and doors. They must have a micro-ventilation system. If the windows are already standing, but do not have this function, you can install special fittings that will ensure a loose fit of the frame when closed.
You can also install a supply and exhaust fan. With its low power, it provides a good flow of air masses. Fans can be purchased in ceiling-mounted, window-mounted and wall-mounted versions.
Such measures are not the ultimate truth. If the problems with the ventilation system are serious, it is better to contact a specialist.
Where to go
If it is found that the hood is not working in the apartment, you must complain to the management company serving the house. Its coordinates are indicated in the contract with the organization. When applying, you need to write a statement in duplicate. The first one must be left in the office of the service company with the secretary, and the second one with a registration mark must be taken for yourself. When contacting, it is important to make sure that the application has been registered. Otherwise, the reaction from the specialists of the management company can be expected endlessly.
Specialists have the necessary equipment and diagnostic devices to assess the condition of the ventilation system. With the help of special tools and techniques, craftsmen eliminate interference in the work of communication.
The obligations of the management company are spelled out in government decrees 451,410 and 290. The documents deal with the rules for maintaining and servicing common property. It is worth referring to these documents when contacting the management company.
