What to do if the ventilation system (or exhaust hood) in the apartment does not work and where to contact immediately

Normal ventilation operation is important not only for the comfort of residents and maintaining an optimal level of humidity in the apartment, but also to ensure safety if gas equipment is installed in the house.

Also, the lack of ventilation leads to the appearance of unpleasant odors in the kitchen, mold in the bathroom and toilet, and the accumulation of substances hazardous to health released during operation of the gas boiler, so it is important to periodically check the performance of the ventilation system.

How to check ventilation operation

When the hood is not working well, there are two simple ways to check the traction force:

1. Open the window slightly and bring a lit candle or lighter to the ventilation grille. The flame should deflect towards the vent. If this does not happen or the flame is directed towards the room, the ventilation is faulty. The method can be used in houses not connected to the gas supply system.
2. Open the window. Get a piece of paper large enough to completely cover the vent. Press it firmly against the grate and remove your hand. If the sheet remains in place, the traction is good. If you fall, you should call a specialist.

It is advisable to use both methods in cool weather, because... in the heat, the air is “heavy”, the draft weakens and it will be difficult to check its strength. Indirect signs of a malfunction may be the formation of condensation on the windows, the appearance of mold or mildew on the walls bordering the street and in the bathroom, and foreign odors coming from the entrance or from neighbors.

Poor quality air exchange

When arranging a ventilation system in a house, many factors must be taken into account. If we omit the technical details and translate everything into human language, then the requirement for air exchange can be formulated as follows: it is necessary that the air available in the apartment can be replaced by fresh air in full within a certain short period of time.

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But designers are people too. The human factor cannot be excluded, so errors are sometimes made during design. The consequence is that the air exchange rate is too low. That is, the air simply does not have time to be replaced by fresh air in the required time.

The result is an oversaturation of carbon dioxide, increased humidity - and, as a result, you can experience poor health and mold in the corners. The latter phenomenon also makes a negative contribution to health. Mold spores enter the air and from there into the lungs. As a result, various diseases can arise, none of which are pleasant.

Unfortunately, the problem of poor design is not so easy to correct. Even if you register this with the management company, you will most likely have to wait for a major renovation of the house. And such things do not happen quickly.

Causes of hood failure

There are several reasons for the occurrence of reverse draft, when air from the ventilation is sucked into the room, or its complete absence:

• Installation errors. Incorrect placement of ventilation pipes or their insufficient length is the main cause of backdraft. It is especially common among residents of upper floors, because... to ensure the movement of air flows, the height of the pipe must be at least two meters.
• Illegal reconstruction. There are often cases when residents of apartment buildings unauthorizedly make changes to ventilation structures or completely dismantle a section of the ventilation duct running through their apartment. As a result, the functioning of the system stops.
• Installation of plastic windows. Replacing double glazed windows can have a big impact on air circulation, especially in older homes. In them, ventilation systems were designed according to the principle of natural impulse, based on the use of the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors. An important part of the system's operation was the constant flow of air from outside. Hermetically sealed plastic windows cannot provide it, especially in winter, when they are tightly closed due to the cold, and in summer such ventilation is useless, because... the temperature inside and outside the room is almost the same.
• Ventilation duct clogged. Construction debris, parts of the ventilation system that have collapsed due to dilapidation, a bird's nest, etc. can block the air movement.

New plastic windows and insufficient heating

Despite the advantages of plastic windows, which provide increased heat and sound insulation in rooms, they can disrupt ventilation and air exchange. Double-glazed windows make the apartment too airtight, which prevents fresh air from entering the room. And without air flow, ventilation cannot work.

To resume operation of the hood, you need to periodically open the windows to provide micro-ventilation. In addition, you can install additional supply valves or air holes.

To increase indoor comfort and control air humidity and temperature, you can install special cleaning filters, air ionizers and a climate control system. Then you will forget about the problems of the microclimate in the apartment, forever get rid of bacteria, allergens, dust and unpleasant odors. But such pleasure is not cheap.

Insufficient heating can disrupt the microclimate and ventilation in the apartment. The normal temperature in rooms during the heating period should be no lower than +18 degrees, in corner rooms - no lower than +20.

Ways to solve ventilation problems

Having figured out the cause of the traction problem, you can begin to eliminate it. There are several ways to correct the situation:

• Cleaning the ventilation duct. The operating rules of apartment buildings prohibit residents from accessing public communications, so in case of serious problems, work must be carried out by employees of specialized services. However, minor blockages can be cleared yourself. Remove the protective grille and look inside the ventilation duct. Using a broom or vacuum cleaner, clean the channel. In case of serious difficulties, call the management company.
• After installing double-glazed windows, ensure frequent ventilation of the room.
• In a private house, provide a gap between the front door and the threshold for air flow.
• Install supply valves or double-glazed windows with built-in valves. They are equipped with special curtains that allow you to block the air flow if necessary. Valves are available in window, ceiling and wall types.
• In case of serious problems, use forced air devices. Our company employees will tell you more about the equipment.
• Installation of forced ventilation. An electric fan is mounted directly into the hood to provide air movement.

If the measures taken do not help, contact the management company.

Overhaul or replacement?

Redevelopment carried out by a neighbor above, or a banal blockage of the satellite air duct (after long-term operation, kilograms of soot, pieces of concrete are removed from it...) often leads to the fact that the exhaust air is not removed from the apartment at all. The candle flame in front of the ventilation grilles does not even flutter. To reanimate the ventilation system, it is enough to contact the management company, whose specialists will help to find out and eliminate the cause of the lack of draft. However, you may not be able to wait for help...

If you cannot tolerate musty air in your home, there is an option to organize an individual apartment exhaust ventilation system that discharges exhaust air from the kitchen and bathroom directly to the street, and simply install plugs on the existing exhaust ventilation openings in these rooms.

Such a system can operate in continuous mode or “on demand” (for example, it can be activated by a signal from humidity sensors or air quality sensors in the apartment). The bottleneck of such installations is the freezing of exhaust vents on the street in severe cold weather. However, most of the year they function without problems - if only there was electricity in the house.

First of all, for normal operation of the system, access of fresh air from the street to the living quarters - bedroom, living room - is necessary. If the rooms have old wooden windows, no special equipment will be required. If plastic windows with a sealed sash are installed, then the flow of air into the living rooms will most likely have to be organized. For example, using the supply valves already mentioned above, mounted in through holes in the external walls.

Air exhaust from the kitchen is often achieved using a wall-mounted centrifugal exhaust fan placed over a through hole cut into the outer wall of the house. From the side of the house façade, the opening is closed with an exhaust ventilation grille.

A centrifugal wall fan for the kitchen should have a built-in check valve to prevent cold air from flowing into the room from the street when it is turned off. Example: fans of the CF series (Vents). In the southern regions, axial exhaust fans with automatic shutters are also used, mounted in a through hole with a diameter of 100–150 mm in the window glazing. Similar devices are supplied to the Russian market under the trademarks Vortice, Sylavent, O. ERRE, Xpelair, Ductex and others.

To extract air from the bathroom and toilet - rooms that usually do not come into contact with the outer walls of the house, you will need a moisture-proof duct fan with a capacity of approximately 80-150 m3/h: it is usually installed in the bathroom, behind a false ceiling. With its help, moist air from the bathroom and toilet is pumped out into the street through an air duct that is moisture-resistant and sound-proof. Such an air duct must be laid through the living rooms, along the shortest path to the nearest external wall, in the space behind the hemming flow, or in the voids of the decorative lowering of the ceiling along the perimeter of the room. The air intake in the bathroom and the air duct outlet on the street are covered with ventilation grilles.

For bathrooms in an apartment, it is logical to buy a centrifugal fan with a low noise level (32-36 dB (A)), adapted for long-term operation (resource - at least 30,000-40,000 hours).

We can recommend VKP-mini (Vents) with a capacity of 80 to 176 m3/h. Up to 4 short air ducts can be connected to the inlet pipes of this device, and only one outlet pipe. Durable models of duct fans made of polymer materials, which do not mind long-term contact with moist, polluted air, are produced by Vortice (Lineo model range), Cata (SMT), Panasonic (FV-12NS1), Shuft and others.

Among the manufacturers of air ducts, we note the companies DEC, Diaflex, Sodiamex. The companies Trox, Systemair, Halton, Swegon, IMP Klima, and Arktos have a wide range of high-quality supply and exhaust ventilation grilles.

Precautions when working in a ventilation duct

If the air outflow is disrupted, an accumulation of flammable gases and combustible debris may occur in the ventilation shaft, so during operation, take the following precautions:

• Do not use open fire to illuminate the ventilation shaft and do not try to set fire to debris accumulated in the chimney, as this may lead to a fire.
• Do not place heavy objects into the ventilation duct.
• Do not use aggressive solvents or other chemicals to clean pipes. It is permissible to use dry ice, which when melted leaves no traces.

Examination

You can understand whether the used air goes outside or not and what the traction force is in two simple ways.

To ensure a better check, wait until the weather is cool; in the warm season, the draft is poor, practically no air enters the apartment, so you want to open the window “swing.”

Along the way, pay attention to indirect signs of a faulty hood: condensation on the windows, fungus on the wall adjacent to the street, odors generated outside the apartment.

Verification methods:

1. Open the window and bring a working lighter or a lit match to the ventilation grille: the deviation of the flame towards the hood indicates its serviceability. A steady fire or a “turn” away from the grate indicates that the hood is not working. This testing method can be used in houses not connected to a centralized gas supply system.
2. Open the window, and alternately hold a piece of thin paper 2-3 cm wide and 15-20 cm long to the slots of the decorative grille. A slight pull of the “indicator” to the slot indicates normal air exchange. If the paper strip does not react, open the window or door slightly and repeat the procedure. The absence of changes in the behavior of the piece of paper or its slight vibration indicates that the ventilation in the apartment is not working well.

Why doesn't the hood work?

In a new or recently renovated home, the most likely cause is installation errors. This is an incorrect location of the air ducts or their short length. A similar problem often occurs among residents of upper floors: the length of the exhaust pipe starts from two meters. There are other reasons why the ventilation in the apartment stopped working:

1. Independent alteration , transfer, or even dismantling of air ducts during the redevelopment of the apartment.
2. Installation of plastic double-glazed windows. Here, the absence of a hood is due to the cessation of natural air circulation through wooden frames. Plastic does not allow it to pass through at all and tightly seals the room. And if in the summer the window can be opened, in the winter this is not done because of the cold.
3. People often think that the hood is not working, although the problem is the lack of air pressure , that is, all the windows are closed and sealed. In this case, the air “stands still”, it becomes stuffy, the smell in the toilet does not go away for a long time, or even worse, it begins to spread throughout the apartment - in such cases, there is a feeling that “the hood is not working.”
4. Clogged ventilation duct. The problem usually occurs due to foreign objects getting inside, debris generated during repairs, or collapse of the top of the duct caused by disrepair or natural disaster. The big problem is that in new houses very often builders throw small debris into the hood so as not to take it out.

How to restore ventilation

First, you should remove the decorative grille and assess the degree of contamination of the channel. If it is not strong, try cleaning it with a broom or vacuum cleaner. If there is no positive result, you will have to contact the management company.

You need to submit an application in which you need to describe the problem in detail. A repair crew will be sent to you to try and remove the clogged roof duct.

A massive weight is attached to the cable and thrown into the shaft: the obstacles will be knocked down.

But if the procedure does not help, you can’t expect more from the management company.

The lack of air exchange associated with the installation of double-glazed windows can be partially solved with the help of special valves with curtains built into them. In a private house, having a gap between the threshold and the front door leaf will help. However, this method is unlikely to be suitable for winter.

There is another method - arranging supply valves. These are holes in the wall adjacent to the street, covered with decorative grilles. Such valves are made near heating radiators so that the incoming air is at least partially heated. But there are some pitfalls here:

• the greatest efficiency of the valves is achieved only when there is a large difference in temperature outside and in the room, that is, in spring, summer and early autumn the valve is absolutely useless, and you will still be forced to open the window wide;
• the valve will be almost useless if the hood is not working;
• In winter, the temperature in the apartment will noticeably drop, even with the heating battery running.

If the problem cannot be solved by any of the above methods, you need to think about installing forced ventilation.

Supply ventilation operation

Independent ventilation of an apartment or house using open windows or cracks under the door threshold becomes especially problematic in the cold season: no one wants to lose heat.

And in the summer in the city, not everyone likes to “let” indoor air contaminated with particles of car exhaust and dust. Solve the problem, i.e.

You can ventilate a room and keep it warm without opening windows using forced ventilation.

It includes several components:

• filters;
• heating function;
• a heating element;
• recuperator;
• air duct;
• sound absorption system, etc.

Ventilator OXY

One of the options for arranging a ventilation system that ensures the removal of exhaust air and the influx of fresh air, and if it is winter, then already heated air, is the OXY modular system.

What does it mean?

OXY2 actively filters the incoming air stream from contaminated particles. Can work in active and passive mode. As a result, we get fresh air, which displaces the exhaust air. The ventilator includes a German-made fan, with which the air exchange rate is regulated. At the same time, the noise emitted by the device is comparable to the rustling of leaves.

You can upgrade at any time: add functionality.

And the most functional modification is OXY3. Unlike the previous modification, this one provides heating of incoming air flows, which guarantees maintaining a comfortable temperature in the room during the coldest time of the year.

The device filters incoming air flows, filters them and heats them to room temperature.

As a result, when the windows are closed, active air exchange occurs in the room: drafts are excluded! To carry out an upgrade, just call a specialist, and he will improve your system within an hour.

It works like this:

• “Oxy” takes the stream from the street, purifies it and, if necessary, heats it;
• fresh air begins to circulate inside the room, and exhaust air is forced out through the hood;
• the room temperature remains the same, there are no drafts.

Unlike an air conditioner, OXY consumes very little electricity, does not require regular maintenance, can operate continuously all year round, is small in size and has a lower cost compared to its analogues. If you think that the standard plastic body of the device does not fit into the interior, you can order the device with a stylish wooden cladding.

Supply ventilation systems

offers a wide range of different types of ventilation equipment:

1. Devices for forced air supply and purification. Models of different sizes and power with a different set of functions are presented: heating, passive ventilation, ionizer, UV radiation, CO2 level measurement, etc.
2. Supply and exhaust ventilation - equipment for ventilation, cleaning and heating of air.
3. Supply valves - provide ventilation without the use of electricity, a high level of cleaning and protection against freezing.
4. Dust filters are high-quality consumables for the equipment presented in the online store.

The AEROS company is Tion No. 1 dealer in Russia . We create comfortable conditions for our clients:

• We provide a two-year warranty on all equipment.
• Professional in-house teams of installers are available to customers.
• Delivery throughout Novosibirsk and the region is free.

You can get advice on the presented range and technical characteristics by contacting the company’s specialists by phone listed on the website or via online chat.

Ventilation does not work (in apartment) where to go: legal assistance in the regions of the Russian Federation

• Altai (republic) Gorno-Altaisk