Is it just us? Horrible laundry smell from our neighbors.

[HunterG]

We live next to a home that uses awful scented detergent. Unfortunately, with Seattle zoning we are directly above their exhaust vent and the smell is making us sick. If it were just one load a day I would understand, but this house does 4+ loads a day for only two people.

We have tried speaking with them and telling them about our chemical sensitivities, but they just don’t care. Not only that, they chain smoke, mixing that sick sweet smell with cigarette smoke. We have bought a fan for each window trying to repel the odors, but it just doesn’t work.

Are we crazy for going crazy about this? Anyone else have this happening to them? Any insights? It’s kind of turned into a war between us where they do laundry just to make us shut our windows, not thinking about the harm they do to the environment, should we just egg them on and make them go broke from the electric bill?

I Would love any advice or insights.

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[JoB]

offer to buy them acceptable laundry detergent

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[trickycoolj]

I completely sympathize. My previous apartment had really drafty windows and for a while my downstairs neighbors were chefs and came home and made dinner after they got home from dinner shift at about 11pm. So as soon as I was turning in for bed my bedroom reeked of sauteed garlic. They finally moved out and a new tenant moved in the basement that stewed seriously pungent smelling ethnic foods all weekend long that wafted up the drains, elevator shaft, hallways, stairs, out the windows and up into the others, you name it if there was a draft it smelled like that food. They even propped open all the outside doors to the building (unsafe!) and opened their apartment door to the hallway obviously knowing full well it stank but the landlord never did anything even when I mentioned I was worried they were pouring leftovers down the toilet since my bathroom 2 floors up smelled like their food.

Unfortunately you’re probably not in a rental situation. Maybe look into sealing off your windows a little more on that side of the house? Or upgrading if it’s an option? Irritating that in order to avoid the neighbors smells, you have to shell out the cash.

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[seaopgal]

It’s difficult when you don’t have any leverage other than “neighborliness,” so you might try building a relationship with them outside of this dispute. If you’ve tried that already, a trained mediator might be able to help you reopen the conversation about the laundry. (Here are some good tips re. dispute resolution: http://www.kcdrc.org/resources/resolution-tips.) You might also research vent options … perhaps there is something that could be installed (at your expense) that would redirect the exhaust. Good luck!

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[JoB]

put exhaust fans on the side of where the laundry smells come up.. i use them to cross ventilate in the house and to avoid AC bills in the summer.

love them.

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[miws]

Hunter, Maybe see if Puget Sound Clean Air Agency can help?

Since you’ve already tried neighbor-to-neighbor contact, that takes care of their first suggestion (unless the mediation as mentioned above could be of help).

http://www.pscleanair.org/contact/complaint.aspx

Here’s a link to the Odor Complaint Form:

https://secure.pscleanair.org/Complaint/Odor.aspx

Mike

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[Genesee Hill]

Is it cheap detergent, or Bounce dryer sheets? I would think the latter. In any case, good luck.

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