Symptoms of insufficient ventilation of the apartment indicate that a ventilation check in an apartment building should be carried out. A planned audit is carried out periodically, but homeowners can order an inspection of the ventilation ducts with the slow removal of unpleasant odors, the appearance of mold on the walls. Dirt, trapped leaves narrow the lumen and threaten with stagnation of air in the room.
The need to check ventilation
Fresh air from outside should enter the apartment and the one that has impurities of vital activity, additives of combustion products of household gas and unpleasant odors should be displaced. The system of ventilation shafts in an apartment building is designed for the regular removal of used streams from the bathroom, kitchen, toilet.
Ventilation schemes in houses are of different types, more often a supply and exhaust system is arranged. Ventilation must work in the apartment constantly so that the air is exchanged several times.
Air exchange rates in the apartment:
- bathroom and toilet, respectively, 25 and 50 m3 / h, combined bathroom - 50 m3 / h;
- the kitchen requires 90 m3 / h of fresh air;
- rooms - 3 m3 / h per 1 square of area.
Apartments are insulated, protected from the slightest penetration of cold by sealing plastic windows. Modern finishing and furniture materials emit harmful substances. For good draft in the exhaust ducts, there is not enough supply air, which hardly penetrates into an isolated apartment. In such conditions, checking chimneys and ventilation ducts in apartment buildings comes to the fore.
Periodicity
The managing organization or HOA is responsible for the operation of the channels, since ventilation ducts belong to the common house property. Companies do the audit on their own or involve specialists with measuring instruments. The ventilation shafts are checked at least three times a year. Houses equipped with gas stoves are subject to inspection twice a year (Decree of the Government of Russia No. 410, 14.05.2013, paragraphs 5 and 14). It is recommended to revise the channels no later than 7 days before the heating is turned on and 7 days after it ends.
The control ensures safety during the operation of in-house gas stoves, a prerequisite for the provision of gas distribution services is the maintenance of air passages in proper condition. Organizations that have a license for the relevant activity are allowed to check and clean on the basis of a contract.
Regulations
The management company and the HOA monitor the state of ventilation in already operated houses with gas or electric stoves. During the construction and acceptance of the new building, the responsibility is assigned to the technical supervision of the customer and production supervisors of the contractor.
To control the state of ventilation in the house, documents have been developed:
- SP 60.133.30 - 2012 - updated version of the rules for air conditioning, ventilation and heating.
- SNiP 41.01. - 2002 - contains standards for the development of systems and the calculation of air exchange, requirements for air ducts.
- SNiP 7.131.30 - 2013 - fire safety requirements.
- SP 54.133.30 - 2016 - requirements for ventilation of the multi-apartment sector, does not apply to semi-detached houses of individual and private construction.
- GOST 30494.2011 - considers public and residential premises, contains the parameters of the internal climate.
- SanPiN 2.1.2.2645 - 2010 contains sanitary requirements for the situation in residential buildings.
There are guidelines that provide a calculation of air exchange for various indicators when checking ventilation and reveal ways to achieve the required parameters of air ducts.
Troubleshooting
To determine the clogging of the channel, the grating is removed and a visual inspection is carried out. Debris found is cleaned out manually or a vacuum cleaner is used. It is difficult to remove the blockage from the shaft of the ventilation mine; such actions of residents are prohibited by law.
If you suspect a decrease in traffic, a specialist is called through the dispatcher of the managing organization. The master can check the ventilation in the apartment with diagnostic tools and devices. The canals are clogged with construction debris that gets into the shaft due to unscrupulous builders working on the upper floors. But even without this, fat and soot from the products of gas combustion are layered on the walls, as a result, the clearance of the mine narrows.
The central pipe leads from the basement to the attic, and ventilation ducts from apartments approach it, sometimes these are whole sleeves with adjacent channels. Each riser from the apartment goes into the main shaft on a floor or two above. Adjacent passages create thrust in the central shaft and, if one does not work, the overall air flow is weakened.
In a critical state, air is drawn into the channel and goes down. Individual channels of the last floors lead directly to the roof so as not to receive overturning of the draft. The steps that clean the kitchen and the bathroom are made independent and are not linked to each other.
Reasons for the lack of air flow
A pair of ventilation ducts in the toilet and kitchen draws out used air, but fresh air must replace it. The circulation is disturbed if the wooden windows in the dwelling are replaced with metal-plastic frames with a hermetically sealed closure. The air flow is reduced due to the fact that there are no cracks. Temporary opening of the sashes or vents does not help, because for good draft, the fresh flow must be constant.
If the front door does not close tightly, air seeps out of the stairwell. The quality of such a flow is not much different from the apartment flow, but its movement improves the operation of the hood. If air does not flow through the windows and doors, one high-draft exhaust duct draws in the flow from the second barrel.
In addition to the main shaft, there are other elements in the ventilation structure. A horizontal connection passage is placed in the attic. On the upper floor, the air cannot rise a few meters up, because meets horizontal passage. The stream is squeezed out into the neighbors' exhaust holes. Air exchange in the apartments on the upper floors slows down, because does not receive acceleration to enter the attic.
Methods for organizing ventilation checks in an apartment building
Checking ventilation ducts is carried out according to the document "Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building." The standard provides a list of maintenance work.
Basic steps:
- research of the ventilation system performance and its technical service;
- elimination of malfunctions causing a deterioration in traction;
- development of measures for restoration and repair.
During the revision, the speed of movement of aeration flows in the air ducts is investigated; for this, anemometers are used.When checking, calculate the amount of air passing into the duct by measuring the cross-sectional area of the outlet.
The check can be carried out indirectly with measurements of harmful impurities and making a decision on the quality of the system. Tachometers, thermometers, micromanometers, laboratory instruments are used. The results are logged and signed by a specialist.
Matches and paper
Inhabitants of the apartment can check the state of traction in simple ways. The first one requires you to take a piece of plain paper and bring it to the ventilation hole at a distance of 5 to 7 centimeters in the kitchen or bathroom. Before the action, you need to open the window to give fresh air access.
Leaf behavior:
- sticks to the grate and is held in this position - the system works well;
- the strip is stationary - poor ventilation, passages or weak air flow may be clogged (in summer);
- the paper deviates from the grate towards the room - the draft has overturned and the flow goes in the opposite direction.
Instead of paper, the state of the system will show the fire of the match. You need to bring it to the hole at a distance of 10 cm. The fire will deflect like a strip of paper, the definition parameters are the same. There is a very small chance that unused gases have accumulated in the ventilation shaft, but it is better to check with paper, and not with a match, so as not to get an explosion.
Devices
The correct results are obtained by checking the ventilation ducts in an apartment building using an instrumental method. Various models of animometers are available, for personal use, residents acquire simple options. Employees of the sanitary service and specialists of the management organization work with perfect devices, there are devices with remote sensors built-in calculators inside.
Wizard actions:
- the window opens;
- the lattice is removed into the channel openings;
- the anemometer is placed in the ventilation shaft;
- the result is read on the device;
- the result obtained is compared with the normative indices.
The animometer measures the speed of the air flow in the ventilation duct. The air volume is calculated using technical tables, cross-sectional area of the hood. Based on this, a conclusion is made about the degree of pollution, traction power and the amount of reverse tightening.
Professional expertise
Sometimes residents do not agree with the conclusions of the employees of the service company and can order an independent survey of the ventilation system at their own expense.
As a result of the check, they find out:
- compliance with the design documentation and the actual location of the ventilation shaft, channels;
- the suitability of the existing scheme for the conditions of a particular house;
- the category of malfunctions, the time of their occurrence;
- the volume and quality of services (for the court) under the expert act;
- the real cost of corrective work.
After checking, the service issues a conclusion listing the above circumstances and recommendations for improving the operation of the ventilation system. The documentation indicates the condition of the walls, the presence and size of cracks.
Cleaning the ventilation system
The ventilation shaft from the apartment opening to the entrance to the common riser can be cleaned on its own without the involvement of craftsmen. A stepladder is used, the floor and wall under the hole is closed from debris. The grate is removed, the garbage is removed manually, the remains of dust, the cobweb is removed with a vacuum cleaner. The grille is put in place, the draft is checked.
If such an action does not improve the operation of the hood, an employee from the company is called. Specialists are cleaning the shaft from the roof and working in the attic.
Optimization of ventilation in the apartment
Residents open the vents to improve traction in the ventilation shaft, but this action helps to draw out heavily polluted air for a short period. For constant traction, it is difficult to keep the sash open, especially in winter. Some owners remove seals from windows, getting drafts and heat loss in return.
Manufacturers of plastic windows offer customers the installation of special devices on the frame, which contribute to an organized flow of air, while the window still effectively protects from the cold.
Another method is to install it in the fan exhaust port to activate the deaeration. At the same time, the inflow of a fresh stream from the street to the apartment remains relevant. In the outer wall of the building, ventilation inlet valves are mounted, they are also installed in window openings. Such devices are available with natural and forced draft.
