Ventilation systems are an integral part of the house, which allows the removal of unpleasant odors and odors and ensures the circulation of air flows. In this regard, the phenomenon of reverse draft in ventilation is a big problem for residents of high-rise and high-rise buildings.
Due to this defect, unpleasant odors appear in the house, which residents immediately feel. What to do if the ventilation blows into the apartment? The solution to such a problem should not be postponed for long, because the problem will not be solved on its own. The article examines in detail the reasons for such a breakdown, as well as ways to cope with this trouble.
Ventilation system: types and principle of operation
Combined ventilation system
Well-functioning ventilation in a house or apartment creates comfortable conditions for its inhabitants. After all, it is very important what kind of air we breathe - filled with freshness or the aroma from fried cutlets. When the system is functioning normally, no one notices its operation. When the glass on the windows fogs up, the smells of food do not disappear, there is stagnant air in the rooms, and what’s even worse is the blowing from the hood into the apartment with the windows closed, it becomes clear that there is no ventilation.
Three types of ventilation are used in construction:
- Natural ventilation. The principle of its operation is the natural movement of air. Due to different temperatures and pressures of the atmosphere indoors and outdoors, air enters the house through windows, doors, and existing cracks. Flowing smoothly throughout the house, it leaves through vents in the bathroom and kitchen. This flow of air masses occurs when nothing interferes with them.
- Mechanical ventilation. Its work occurs using ventilation equipment. Under its influence, fresh air enters the apartment or house, and exhaust air is forced out.
- Mixed ventilation. This is the most common system, when air flows in naturally and air is removed using an exhaust system.
For their proper operation, supply and exhaust ventilation ducts are required. Without such a basis, the system does not exist.
Attention! The correct operation of the ventilation system is checked using a regular paper sheet or a candle flame. To do this, just open the window, bring a sheet or candle to the ventilation grill. The sheet is pulled or the candle flame is tilted towards the hole - it works correctly. If reverse processes occur or nothing happens at all, the system is faulty.
Checking the result
To check the traction characteristics of the installed ventilation, you will only need to have a match with you. The check is done as follows: light a match and bring it to the switched on hood. If everything works fine, the fire will go out. If this does not happen, there is most likely a problem with the flow into the bathroom or apartment.
To solve it, it will be enough to install a supply valve in the room (wall or window). Also take care of the flow into the bathroom; for this purpose, door valves are installed in the doors.
Perhaps plastic windows are to blame
In rooms with plastic windows, forced ventilation is indicated.
During construction, apartment buildings are equipped with a natural supply and exhaust ventilation system (exhaust air masses exit through special openings in the sanitary room and in the kitchen). This is provided for by SNiP 2.08.01-89 “Residential buildings”. It must enter residential premises through windows, vents, doors, and natural cracks. But modern civil engineering provides for the installation of metal-plastic windows in apartments. They are sealed and do not allow air to flow freely into the apartment, which is contrary to the design of natural ventilation.
The reason why exhaust air blows from the ventilation is metal-plastic windows and doors with a seal. How does this process happen? During operation, kitchen hoods can absorb not only fumes and food odors, they “pull” air from the entire apartment. This leads to reverse draft in the ventilation duct. That is, fresh air does not come from the street due to the sealing of the room, and its place is taken by untreated air masses from the ventilation.
We consistently eliminate possible causes of drafts
If drafts dominate your apartment, take immediate action. There are several proven ways to limit the possibility of through air movement:
- If your apartment is in a panel building, you should pay attention to the condition of the joints between the slabs. The management company must insulate and seal them at your request;
- Any cracks in the external walls of the apartment must be carefully sealed, and rubber seals must be used instead of foam seals;
- By installing closers or magnetic locks on the doors, we will limit the ability of pets to open them freely;
- Replacing windows is a radical remedy, but plastic double-glazed windows will allow you to forever forget about drafts from the terrible cracks of wooden frames and sashes;
- In the English kingdom they have long learned to deal with drafts by hanging heavy curtains to the floor on the windows;
- Do not ventilate the entire apartment, but only one room at a time.
- The most radical solution to put an end to the dominance of drafts once and for all would be to install an air handling unit.
How to make ventilation work correctly
Correct ventilation arrangement in the bathroom
Before “diagnosing” a system breakdown, you need to check whether there will be air movement under natural ventilation conditions. To do this, turn off the hood in the kitchen, open the window and the door to the bathroom. If the candle flame deviates towards the hood, then the problem with reverse draft can be solved independently.
If the flame deviates in the opposite direction and still blows from the ventilation into the apartment, what should you do in this case? The air duct needs to be cleaned. To do this: dismantle the grille, remove dust and soot from the walls of the ventilation duct. Cleaning is carried out using a special device. If one is not available, then several kitchen brushes are attached to a stick. Other existing exhaust ducts in the apartment are cleaned in the same way. Then check the traction again. If cleaning does not help, other measures are taken.
Important! The operation of ventilation ducts depends on the room in which they are located. For example, in the kitchen, unlike the toilet, there is a large volume of absorbed air and the temperature is higher. And the higher the temperature, the better the draft in the channel, while the other channel “works” with reverse draft. By placing a plug that reduces the diameter on the kitchen ventilation duct, the operation of the duct in the toilet will resume with normal draft.
Hermetically sealed windows prevent fresh air from entering the room. This problem can be solved by “tuning” the window frame by installing a supply valve on it. Air flows through it even when the windows are closed.
Replacing old interior doors with new ones without a bottom strip in the door frame will help improve the functioning of natural ventilation. This solution to the problem is not affordable for everyone, then you can use some “tricks”. In the existing doors, in the lower part, several holes are drilled or a ventilation grill is inserted. There will be no drafts, but natural air circulation will appear.
One simple solution to improve air circulation is a check valve. Its main purpose is to prevent the penetration of waste materials from the hood back into the room. They are produced for two types of installation - vertical and horizontal, depending on the design features of the ventilation system.
Installation of supply channels
Supply channels are holes that are made from the street side to create additional air flow directed into the room. The flow direction is controlled by two valves. But it is better if the valves are installed in advance in plastic windows to improve tightness and the possibility of normal air circulation.
Ventilation valve in window frame
Principle of operation
Each valve has a grille inside to protect against excess debris entering the room. And for sound insulation, a special box is installed on the outside of the hole.
You should choose only high-quality valves. Cheap models cannot function normally at large temperature ranges or air will pass through even when closed.
An important condition is the creation of a good indoor microclimate. For this purpose, cleaning filters, ionizers, and control systems are installed. The devices will allow air to be humidified and ionized for disinfection purposes.
Why is proper ventilation important?
Incorrect operation of ventilation, when instead of being removed, exhaust air is blown into the house, can result in various ailments for those living in the apartment. For example, the cause of headaches, general poor health, and depression is a high concentration of carbon dioxide.
Excess CO2 is the cause of poor health
Excessively humid and stale air accumulated in the bedroom affects the quality of sleep and how a poorly slept person will feel during the next day. Doctors recommend resting with windows or vents open. In the cold season, this condition is impossible to fulfill, since prolonged ventilation of the room threatens heat loss.
Important! Exhaust air that is not vented outside but blows in the opposite direction contributes to the formation of soot and moisture on the walls, which ultimately leads to mold. Mold fungi lead to allergic reactions, respiratory problems, etc.
Negative effects of hypothermia
Drafts can cause a number of health problems. Sore throat, tonsillitis, and upper respiratory tract diseases are common manifestations of the body's reactions to hypothermia. The disease will overtake you even if you are warmly dressed and wrapped in a blanket, but your head or neck is in the path of an insidious draft. Quite often, cooling of the body occurs during sleep, when a person cannot control his condition. In this case, prolonged exposure to cold air does not pass without leaving a trace, weakening the defenses and affecting various organs and areas of the body:
- In the hot summer, pleasant coolness saves us, but when a draft wind acts as a savior, the matter can end with ear inflammation. It is believed that otitis media occurs precisely because of drafts and it occurs regardless of the time of year. The disease requires urgent treatment and easily becomes chronic. Frequent hypothermia of the ears can cause perforation of the eardrum and hearing problems inevitable with this disease;
- When exposed to a draft on your face, you should worry about the facial nerves. By overcooling them, we risk acquiring a whole bunch of sores of the ears, eyes, nose, and other sensitive points;
- You should also not expose your chest to a draft. The nerve fibers of our sternum react very painfully to hypothermia, and a common reaction to cold is inflammation and intercostal neuralgia. The disease is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms - girdling pain that occurs when the patient breathes and coughs;
- By overcooling the lower back, we risk other unpleasant consequences. Drafts can cause radiculitis, pyelonephritis, and other serious diseases;
- Various myositis or muscle inflammation are a typical reaction to local cooling. A draft can affect the muscles of any part of the body. Treatment of the disease takes a long period.
Where to go with problems in the ventilation system
When independent methods of eliminating backdraft do not lead to the desired results, you need to contact specialists. First, an application is made to the house management, indicating the problems. Then, the organization servicing the house will send a specialist who will determine the causes of the malfunction. And, accordingly, depending on the conclusions of the professionals, either they fix the problems themselves or give recommendations to the residents.
To draw a correct conclusion, craftsmen will have to study the correctness of the developed ventilation project and its non-compliance with construction standards. Also, check the impact of equipment installation on its correct operation.
Expert review
To obtain a professional assessment of the ventilation condition, you will need to invite an appropriate specialist who, after the inspection, will draw up regulatory documents where the system parameters are entered. The status report will include ways to address existing deficiencies.
The examination includes three stages:
- Study of project documents.
- Equipment check.
- Finding the reasons for malfunction.
A video endoscope is used to search for blocked wire paths. All identified deficiencies are eliminated within 45 days.
Self-determination of cravings
- There are two ways:
- The simplest one is to place your palm with the ventilation hole, and if the ventilation is working properly, you should feel the movement of the air flow.
- Place a napkin or paper sheet on the grill. If the first holds on to the second, it means the traction is good, there is no reverse effect.
