How To Stop Smells From Coming Through Walls

Do smells coming through the walls of your home make you and your guests wrinkle your noses? Unwanted odors are always unpleasant, especially if they’re creeping in from neighbors’ apartments or other areas.

Unless you’re planning to move anytime soon, you’ll want to stop these smells, but how?

To stop smells coming through walls, seal any cracks, and close gaps around doors and windows.

Talk with your neighbors about the situation in case they can eliminate the source of the odor.

Other options are installing an extractor fan or air purifier with activated carbon. You can also use baking soda, coffee grounds, or vinegar to absorb odors.

Whether your house smells like smoke, your neighbor’s leftovers, or something else, you can tackle odors with a few easy steps.

It can be frustrating to keep your home clean and odor-free only to have smells come through the walls. If you live in a multi-family dwelling, like an apartment complex or a semi-detached house, this is a real problem.

Smells from next door can seep into your home through cracks and holes in the walls or even electrical outlets.

When this happens, you might feel like you don’t have complete control over how your house smells. It can seem like no matter what you do, you still smell cigarette smoke (even though you don’t smoke) or crazy food odors (even if you don’t cook).

First, have a polite conversation with your neighbors. It could be that they are unaware of the issue and can make some adjustments.

If the smell is severe and the neighbor won’t make any changes, you might need to consult your rental agreement and talk to your landlord.

This step doesn’t necessarily mean your neighbors are in trouble. Instead, you are alerting your landlord to the situation so they can look into some potential solutions.

For example, sealing possible cracks in the wall, which brings us to the next step.

Smells can creep through the smallest cracks. If you notice any gaps or cracks in your walls, use a paintable caulk to fill them, let them dry, then paint.

This process is easy enough, and caulking isn’t super expensive. But you can always check with your landlord first about repairing the cracks.

If you plan to paint the wall after, you’ll definitely want to consult any rules about painting. Your lease agreement might not allow it or only permit certain colors, etc.

Extractor fans take odors from inside your house and move them outside. If you’re dealing with unpleasant smells, this could be a solution.

You can find reasonably priced extractor fans at big box stores or online.

If you’re handy, you can do the installation yourself. Otherwise, you might pay between $250 to over $900 for installation.

You could always ask your landlord or neighbor if they’re willing to contribute. But be prepared to foot the bill yourself if your neighbor isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary or against the rental contract.

If you suspect smells are coming through the walls, they might be coming from adjoining vents. Vents that run between your home and your neighbor’s apartment can be a direct route for foul odors.

You might be able to seal off the vents. However, if that isn’t an option, look into an inline fan for the duct. This type of fan basically takes smells coming from your neighbor’s place and sends them right back to them.

An inline fan costs about $30 to $50, and installation roughly costs about $200 to $225. Again, if you’re reasonably handy, you can take care of the installation yourself, making this an affordable option.

Odors coming through walls are one thing, but your wall itself stinking is another. If the actual wall smells bad, it’s likely trapped in odors from various sources. It could be from volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Or perhaps the wall has absorbed smells from previous (or current) homeowners, like smoke, potent cooking spices, or pet urine.

So, what do you do if the smell isn’t coming through the walls from next door? What if the smell is coming from the actual wall?

You can try washing the offending wall with vinegar.

Mix a cup of white vinegar into a bucket of warm water and add some dish detergent. Using a soft cloth or sponge, give your walls a wash (without drenching them). Make sure to clean the cloth periodically, so you’re not putting dirty water back onto the wall.

Use your clean sponge to rinse the wall and remove any traces of detergent. Let the walls dry thoroughly.

If the smell lingers after washing the walls, you may need to repaint them with a few coats of fresh paint.

Don’t resign yourself to living with stinky smells just because they’re coming through the walls. Talk with your neighbors to see if you can come to a solution.

Once they’re aware of the issue, they might be more than willing to make some changes.

You should also check the walls for cracks that could be letting odors into your home. If you find cracks, seal them with caulking. Otherwise, you can use household items like baking soda, coffee grounds, vinegar, or charcoal to absorb odors.

A high-quality air purifier that uses an activated carbon filter also goes a long way to eliminate unpleasant smells. If these steps don’t do the trick, consider installing an extractor fan or asking your neighbor to do so.

Talk to your landlord if you’re renting and having a significant issue with smells from next door.

They can help resolve the situation or front the costs for possible solutions. However, be prepared to handle the problem yourself if necessary. In the end, it will be worth it to live in a fresh-smelling home.