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Thirdhand smoke: An unseen hazard might be affecting your home

Adopting smoke-free policies in condominiums and housing cooperatives can help make a community more appealing to potential nonsmoking residents. But what if there’s a lingering tobacco odor and yellowish stains on the walls of a unit being sold after its former occupant has moved out?

Both are indicators of residual contamination from cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products—known as thirdhand smoke. According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, a residue of nicotine, tar, and other carcinogens and heavy metals builds up on walls, ceilings, carpets, drapes, and other fabrics, HVAC units, and dust, posing a risk to health if inhaled or ingested.

Removing thirdhand smoke residue requires extensive cleaning beyond vacuuming or dusting—an expensive and time-consuming proposition for an association if the previous owner has already left. At a minimum, a thorough cleaning of the unit should include the following:

  • Wash walls and ceilings multiple times with hot water and detergent, using rags to avoid pushing residue around.
  • Remove carpeting and padding, and wash floors before replacing carpeting.
  • Replace curtains, blinds, and window coverings to prevent chemicals from being released back into the environment.
  • Clean out vents and replace filters to prevent HVAC systems from recirculating thirdhand smoke into the unit or around the building.
  • Repaint walls with two or three coats of paint once thoroughly clean.

Once the unit is rid of the majority of tobacco residue and ready to be inhabited, remember to ensure that new residents know about the smoke-free policy in your building. The American Lung Association recommends reminding residents that they are financially responsible for smoke residue in their unit, enforcing policy violations with a verbal warning or written notice before more serious penalties if the problem persists, and making it clear that residents need to inform guests of the building’s smoke-free policy.

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Breathing clear: Adopting smoke-free policies in your high-rise community

Smoking bans in the U.S. have become commonplace over the past three decades. Policies have been adopted by local and state governments to make workplaces and public spaces completely devoid of smoke from cigarettes and, more recently, vaping devices. Secondhand smoke concerns have ignited efforts to completely ban smoking in high-rise residential buildings too.

Of the estimated 80 million people in the U.S. who live in multiunit housing, including high-rise condominiums and cooperatives, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that each year, approximately 28 million of them are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes, inhaling many of the substances that can cause emphysema, heart disease, and lung cancer.

“The problem is that even when smoking outside, if you’re close to the building, the smoke is actually pulled into nearby windows and doors. Even if they are closed, the smoke still comes in because buildings are not air-tight,” explains Esther Schiller, executive director of California-based nonprofit Smokefree Air For Everyone. The CDC adds that secondhand smoke also can spread through cracks in walls, electrical lines, ventilation systems, and plumbing.

Many condominiums have opted to adopt no-smoking amendments in their covenants, conditions, and restrictions to eliminate smoking in all indoor and outdoor common areas and inside individual units. Schiller’s organization provides resources, such as survey templates, to find out if most residents “want the whole complex to be smoke-free.”

If a community association’s documents do not have a stance on smoking, a unit owner may be left with a remedy of a claim for “nuisance” against neighbors who smoke and act against the board to stop the smoking, says Stephen Marcus, a partner at Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks in Braintree, Mass., and a fellow in CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers.

Schiller says that tobacco smoke qualifies as a nuisance because it interrupts an owner’s enjoyment of their home. While condominium board members may know that tobacco smoke is dangerous, “they may not understand how dangerous it is, and they don’t understand the fact that they have liability,” she notes.

Liability insurance frequently has pollution exclusions—including tobacco smoke—in its coverage, Schiller adds. “So if there’s a lawsuit and the condominium loses, they have to pay out of their reserves.”

When determining if a no-smoking amendment is the right decision for a community, Ken Jacobs, a partner at Smith Buss & Jacobs in Yonkers, N.Y., explains that it’s important to consider residents’ complaints and the problems regarding secondhand smoke, the potential costs to the association if the building’s HVAC system needs to be revamped, and the latest government and medical studies regarding secondhand smoke.

The post Breathing clear: Adopting smoke-free policies in your high-rise community appeared first on Ungated: Community Associations Institute Blog.