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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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Elevator safety: Deadline looming for NYC condos and co-ops

Condominiums and cooperatives in New York City have until Jan. 1 to comply with a safety regulation from the city’s Department of Buildings that requires installation of door-lock monitoring systems to prevent an elevator from moving if the doors are not fully closed, The New York Times reports.

This safety regulation, adopted in 2014, was prompted by a fatal 2011 incident. It’s estimated that about 44,000 automated elevators in the city need to be fitted with door-lock monitoring systems, says Donald Gelestino, president of elevator maintenance company Champion Elevator.

The installation cost of the door-lock safety systems depends on the elevator’s age, with newer ones needing only an activation of the device that is likely already in place or a software update compared to elevators that are at least 5 years old, which would either need to go through a retrofit or a complete upgrade.

Dennis DePaola, an executive vice president and director of compliance at New York City-based management company Orsid Realty, says the company communicated early on with approximately 170 condo and co-op clients in the city to let them know about updating the systems.

“The cost could be anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 per elevator, and many of our buildings have four, five, or six elevators, so it could be a costly endeavor,” explains DePaola. He adds that because the safety devices do not contribute to the operating life of the elevators, Orsid provided boards with evaluations about the remaining useful life of the equipment before they decided whether to either retrofit or upgrade.

Orsid got the discussion started early at each of its properties, but DePaola says that there has been “a lot of anxiety through the management community in New York City about the ability of elevator maintenance companies to go and retrofit all the elevators in the city. There’s only so much personnel and equipment to go around.”

Several trade groups have been in talks with the Department of Buildings to request an extension for some buildings that cannot complete retrofits or upgrades before the Jan. 1 deadline.

The city’s Department of Buildings also is requiring elevators to have a secondary emergency brake installed by 2027, which is prompting many boards to contemplate a complete elevator modernization project for systems that are more than 20 years old, according to The New York Times.

DePaola recommends that condo and co-op boards looking to modernize their systems hire an elevator consultant to find out what specifically needs to be upgraded or brought up to code. The consultant will typically suggest that boards get bids from three or four maintenance companies before undergoing a modernization project.

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