Cleaning the ventilation in the apartment - how to return clean and fresh air to the house? We clean the ventilation in the apartment ourselves

Firstly, smells and combustion products will not leave the kitchen (the first ventilation hole is located there) household gas if you have gas stove... A bad exhaust from a gas boiler or water heater can lead to an almost complete absence of traction, which in some cases becomes the cause of carbon monoxide poisoning of residents, but it is generally not advisable to clean it yourself.

Secondly, non-working ventilation in the bathroom will lead to an increase in the time required for the room to dry out (reduce the amount of water vapor in the air), which will subsequently become main reason the appearance of black spots of mold and mildew on the walls and ceiling of the room.

Thirdly, clogged ventilation in the toilet (if the channel is shared by several apartments) may start working "in reverse side"And you will be able to fully feel all the smells from the next bathroom.

Examination

How to check the ventilation in the apartment? First, remove the grates installed on the walls and rinse thoroughly to remove dirt and dust. Then put them back in place and open the window in the kitchen. Attach a piece of paper to the ventilation grill. If he is attracted to it, then the ventilation is working perfectly. Then repeat this procedure in the bathroom and toilet, leaving the doors to these rooms open.

In the event that a sheet of paper is not attracted to the grate, this means most often only one thing - the ventilation is clogged and it will have to be cleaned. The second reason for the lack of traction is the unauthorized redevelopment of apartments on the overlying floors, as a result of which the ventilation duct was damaged. To eliminate such an interference, you will have to file a complaint with the local architecture, since you simply will not be able to clean the ventilation in the apartment.

Another reason for poorly functioning ventilation is the replacement of old wooden windows with new plastic ones, which you keep tightly closed most of the time, blocking the natural flow of air into the apartment (and since air does not come, then there is nothing to go into ventilation). In this case, either always leave one window slightly open, or cut a ventilation valve into the window.

This video will tell you how to check the operation of ventilation and advise where to go in case of a blockage.

Fundamental rules

It is impossible for individuals to clean the main ventilation shaft of the building on their own, since it belongs to the common property of the building (it is better to file a complaint about poor ventilation to the management company and entrust all the work to their masters). When the specialists arrive, notify all the neighbors whose apartments are located above you about this, so that they are not surprised by the suddenly "activated" ventilation, pouring out black dust from themselves.

But the ventilation duct leading from your apartment to the general mine shaft can (and even need to) be cleaned independently:

Move aside kitchen furniture(if you are cleaning the channel in the kitchen) and move the ladder to the wall. It is better to put a layer of newspapers on the floor, as something can sprinkle from the ventilation.
To the bottom ventilation duct on masking tape attach a newspaper sheet (so that later you do not have to wash the wallpaper or ceramic tiles).
Remove the grill covering the ventilation. Rinse and wipe it off (you can replace it with a new one if you like).
Put on your gloves construction works and carefully scoop out everything that you find in the ventilation duct, since you will not be able to clean the ventilation in the apartment in any other way. Be careful, glass or nails can get caught, so it is better to arm yourself with a small putty knife. If the ventilation duct is made in a panel or brick wall, it can contain a lot of "interesting", starting from pieces frozen solution and ending with the corpses of mice and birds.

Residual dirt can be removed from the canal with a vacuum cleaner.
Refit the grill and re-check the draft with the window open. If the situation has not improved, contact the management company for help.

Comments:

The concept of ventilation has been known since Ancient rome and meant measures for airing the premises. Things are much more complicated nowadays.

For example, many residents apartment buildings, where common ventilation shafts are installed, sometimes very serious problems arise with the condition of the air in the house.

What is ventilation for?

The main task of ventilation is to maintain clean air in living quarters. It must be kept in good condition and for hygienic reasons. With poorly working ventilation, not only the condition of the apartment worsens, but also the health of the people living in it. The exhaust air that goes into the ventilation takes with it dust particles, various harmful microorganisms, and unwanted substances contained in the room. Thanks to normal ventilation, it is possible to regulate heat and humidity in the house - with timely ventilation, the excess leaves them, preventing mold and rot.

With the timely cleaning of ventilation, the ventilation process turns out to be regular, which is correct in sanitary terms. With additional equipment with different types of fans, cleaning can be performed less often, but this does not negate the need to regularly clean the ventilation system as a whole.

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How to tell if it's time to clean your ventilation system

If dust or cobwebs have accumulated around the ventilation inlets, then it's time to clean the entire system.

Pay attention to signs that indicate the need for the next cleaning of the ventilation system. Here are the simplest of them: fine dust, cobwebs, and other debris accumulate around the ventilation entrances. In the summer, the room heats up faster, even after the most thorough cleaning, dust quickly appears. This means that something needs to be done as soon as possible to clean up the atmosphere in the room.

In this regard, apartment buildings have the following feature: since the ventilation system is common, pollution from many apartments falls into a common shaft, and gradually it can become clogged.

There are other ways to determine when it is time to clean the ventilation. Pay attention to drafts that occur when opening front doors or windows. If the draft was quite noticeable, and after a while it disappeared or weakened - it's time to call the housing office workers.

The efficiency of the ventilation can be checked with a lit match.

You can also use this method to determine the degree of ventilation cleanliness: bring a lighted match to the ventilation hole. Do not get carried away - if you bring a match very close, and a cobweb has accumulated in the ventilation shaft, it can burst into flames. A similar check can be carried out with a strip of thin paper - the simplest one, newsprint, will do.

On the basis of an even flame that does not deviate towards the decorative grill covering the ventilation hole, it can be concluded that the mine is clogged and needs urgent cleaning. With normal air circulation in houses, the flame tilts towards the shaft, and in some cases it simply goes out. With this behavior, cleaning the ventilation is optional, but if it was last cleaned at least six months ago, it is still advisable to do a little work.

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How to clean ventilation in an apartment

At first glance, if the representatives of public utilities fulfill their duties in a timely manner, there is no need to independently take measures to clean the air ducts. But in reality, everything is somewhat different. The ventilation structure must perform the following functions:

The scheme of ventilation in the apartment: 1 - air flow zone; 2 - air flow zone; 3 - air exhaust zone

ensure entry into the premises enough air;
give along with the air spent in the cleaning process, harmful microscopic particles that can cause Negative influence on people's health;
perform the functions of a thermal regulator, control the humidity in the apartment.

Cleaning of ventilation risers in an apartment building should be carried out only by specialists, but urgently clean the air duct in own apartment you can do it yourself. With the low efficiency of these actions, the fact of the need to clean the ventilation riser is once again confirmed. This means that you need to contact the building company with this request as soon as possible.

To clean the ventilation well inside the apartment, remove the protective grill from it and wash it well. It is advisable to use detergent, capable of breaking down fat: it will create a film on the surface of the grate, which will help it stay clean longer. Remove dirt and debris from the outside of the open hole. If deposits are stuck to the wall, use a putty knife, but do not use chemical agents cleaning.

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Removing dirt from the inside

Each of the ventilation vents in the apartment must be checked separately. If you are testing using a lighter, hold it up one at a time to all openings and check if the flame direction or the angle of deflection of the newspaper is different if a newspaper strip is used. Deviations can signal that there is a blockage in the middle of the room. Here, a dish brush or a thin steel cable will come to your aid, which must be placed in an outlet and thoroughly cleaned from the inside. You can use thin aluminum wire... The cleaning procedure should be carried out along the entire channel. The remaining debris can be removed with a vacuum cleaner. Place his hose in the shaft and try to cover as much as possible more space moving it in different directions.

The industrial method of cleaning air ducts involves the use of professional equipment. It will not only allow you to clearly see the dirt, but also more thoroughly cleans the channels, and also allows you to perform disinfection. This method cleaning makes it possible to remove any debris, whatever its origin.

If it is not possible to use professional equipment and it is decided to carry out the cleaning yourself, you must take precautions. Sometimes inside the ventilation ducts there are hornets' nests with live insects or other equally dangerous creatures. But, taking on such work, one must remember that cleaning the ventilation apartment building- the responsibility of the owners of the building or the organization that serves it. An ordinary occupant is not allowed to work inside the main duct. The relevant authorities must promptly clean the central air ducts, and if they neglect their duties, they must be filed with a complaint.

Tsugunov Anton Valerievich

Reading time: 4 minutes

Inhabitants of apartments rarely remember about normally working ventilation. But if the windows start fogging up in the rooms, the smell of dishes being prepared in the kitchen spreads freely throughout the apartment, water constantly appears on the walls in the bathroom, the air is musty and stuffy, then the ventilation system has stopped working normally. In order not to risk the health of people living in the apartment, the state of furniture and other interior items, it is better to eliminate the causes of these problems as soon as possible. This may require cleaning.

Checking the operation of the ventilation system

Before starting any action, you should check how the ventilation in the house works. Doing it yourself is not at all difficult.

On the forums, it is advised to do a check using the flame of a burning match or lighter. When the hood is working normally, the flame should deflect towards the ventilation grill. Many people remember similar pictures from Soviet times, calling to check the draft in the gas water heater and the hood in the kitchen.

Representatives of utilities, especially gas workers, strongly oppose the method of checking the ventilation in an apartment with a lighter. V residential buildings gas leaks are quite possible with main gas pipelines, which should be drawn into a common ventilation pipe. In this case, an explosion of a combustible mixture can be provoked, which will lead to the most dire consequences. Therefore, it is recommended to do the check in a safer way.

This should be done with all ventilation grilles to get a complete picture. Most apartments have them in the kitchen, bathroom or toilet.

Reasons for clogged ventilation

The most common problem that leads to malfunctions in the ventilation system is clogging of the air ducts. Most often this happens due to the long-term accumulation of grease, soot and dust inside them, because most residents of apartment buildings limit themselves to wiping the outer part of the gratings.

In old houses brickwork air ducts are destroyed by time and water getting inside, seeping from above or evaporating from the bathroom, and fragments of brick can fill up the ventilation shaft, interfering with air exchange. There are often cases when unscrupulous tenants, wishing to improve their apartment and expand the living space, destroy the ledge in which the ventilation shaft passes, blocking the air access to the apartments of the rest of the inhabitants of the house. Uninvited residents, such as birds or wasps, also contribute to ventilation blockages.

Inhabitants of multi-apartment residential buildings should remember that representatives of special services should be involved in cleaning the main air duct. So if the ventilation does not work due to clogging, you should contact the management company that serves the house. The maximum that residents can do on their own is to clean the ventilation ducts leading from the apartment to the common air duct.

How to clean the ventilation

After checking each hood in the kitchen, bathroom and rooms, it will become clear which channels are clogged. If ventilation does not work in all rooms, most likely, the problem is in the common channel and nothing can be done on your own, if only in one - there is a local blockage that can be eliminated. This requires:

Take off decorative lattice and clean it from accumulated deposits. In this case, it is quite possible to use neutral detergents.
Carefully clean off dust, dirt and soot from the walls of the ventilation duct with a scraper, and then remove with a vacuum cleaner.

Do not use aggressive reagents during cleaning, which can corrode and damage the walls of the mine. It is unacceptable for debris from the ventilation duct leading from the apartment to enter the common air duct. When cleaning, you need to be careful: sometimes there are nests of wasps or hornets in the ventilation.

Ways to improve ventilation in an apartment

What if cleaning the ventilation didn't work? It is possible that the air circulation inside the apartment itself is disrupted. Having dealt with the causes of this violation, you can improve air ventilation in the living room.

Disruption of air circulation between individual rooms

The first step is to repeat the check with a strip of paper, but at the same time open all interior doors. If the paper is attracted under such conditions, then the air circulation between the individual rooms of the apartment is impaired. To improve it, it is recommended when installing doors to make a gap between their lower edge and the floor of a few centimeters.

If the doors are already installed or you do not want to make such a gap, for example, in a bathroom or a toilet, then you can drill a number of holes in the door, with an inward slope. Subsequently, they should be decorated with a fine mesh. This design will provide ventilation when tightly closed doors and will not disturb the privacy of people in the bathroom or toilet.

Airtight insulating glass units

Another reason for the violation of ventilation can be the installation of plastic windows with double-glazed windows. In Soviet-built houses, the influx of fresh air from the outside was meant through small cracks and gaps in wooden window frames... Well-established plastic windows in a fully closed state, such recharge is excluded. As a result, ventilation in the apartment is also disrupted. Therefore, if you are thinking of installing double-glazed windows, then preference should be given to models with a micro-ventilation system.

Already installed double-glazed windows, devoid of such functional features, are easy to modify on their own. There are inexpensive vents on the market that are installed on the frame and sash of the window.

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Nobody pays attention to ventilation if it functions properly. As a rule, exhaust vents are installed in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet. Air currents occur due to the difference in temperature inside the building and outside. In this case, an inflow of fresh air is required, which is necessary for ventilating the premises.

In the event of malfunctions, a ventilation check is required.

Kitchen

In this room, food is prepared and gas combustion products and specific odors constantly appear. If a malfunction occurs in the hood, they spread to all rooms and remain there for a long time. In addition, soot from the combustion of the gas will deposit on all surfaces. Most of it remains in the kitchen.

Bathroom

Violation of ventilation in the bathroom leads to an increase in humidity. At the same time, in the corners, on the walls and ceiling, dark spots mold, which is harmful to health.

High humidity is immediately felt by a person, and in this case, a ventilation check is necessary.

Toilet

When the hood in the toilet becomes clogged, being in it becomes unpleasant, and the smells from the bathrooms will spread through all the rooms of the apartment.

How to check for traction in a simple way

The ventilation is checked periodically as soon as dust appears on the grilles. To do this, they are removed and washed from dirt. After the grilles are installed back and the transom or window is slightly opened in the kitchen or in the room next to it. If the check is carried out in the bathroom or toilet, leave open doors to create an air flow. To check the efficiency of the extraction, a sheet of paper is attached to it. He must "pull" to her, which is a signal of the presence of cravings. Piece toilet paper must hold on to the grate by itself. Alternatively, you can check the presence of thrust by deflecting the flame of a lighter or candle. The procedure is repeated in all areas. Cleaning the ventilation is required if the sheet is not attracted to the grate.

You need to know that in hot weather, the draft in the ventilation duct deteriorates and it is useless to check it. It depends on the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. In this case, forced ventilation is activated.

How to properly organize ventilation in an apartment

The lack of fresh air flow into the apartment can also be the reason for its poor circulation. This became especially noticeable with the replacement of windows with plastic ones, which are distinguished by their tightness. In this case, residents need to independently resolve this issue. Ventilation is improved as follows:

frequent ventilation of the premises;
air conditioner installation;
the use of supply valves;
supply and exhaust application forced ventilation.

The reason for the lack of traction can be the tenants living upstairs, or when the system is overloaded from an enterprise built on the ground floor, for example, a store or cafe. Here, even a ventilation check is required, since extraneous odors appear in the apartment. In both cases, you need to contact the housing office for help.

Rules for cleaning ventilation ducts

Do-it-yourself cleaning of the ventilation is prohibited, since the mine is serviced by specialists from the management company on the roof or technical floors. She is usually approached with complaints of lack of cravings. When calling specialists, neighbors should be warned about this, since dust can crumble through the ventilation holes in the apartments when cleaning the mine.

When self-checking the ventilation, it is only allowed to clean the channel leading from the apartment to the main shaft. To do this, you need to perform the following operations.

Move furniture aside, cover the floor and close the wall in the work area.
Remove, clean and replace the grille if necessary.
Wearing gloves on your hands, carefully remove the debris from the ventilation duct and vacuum out the debris. It is better to remove debris with a tool such as a spatula so as not to get hurt by sharp fragments.
Replace the grille and check for draft by opening the window.

Additional ventilation device

When the ventilation of the house is working properly, but there is not enough fresh air, the following measures are required to improve the microclimate.

Plastic windows are airtight, but it is advisable to purchase window systems with micro-ventilation function.
Fresh air can be supplied using valves, grilles, filters, air heaters and forced-air forced fans.
Air conditioner, refreshing and drying air will partly help out.
Install

When choosing a way to ventilate the premises, you should determine its effectiveness and which devices are already working. A check must be made beforehand exhaust ventilation and identified the need for installation additional equipment that improves the quality of her work.

No matter how efficiently the hood works, a supply of fresh air is required. For this, valves are installed behind the batteries. The diameter of the holes facing the street is 6-10 cm. A plug is installed in them, which can be manually or automatically controlled. The incoming air can be cleaned using filter elements installed in the valves.

Ventilation is classified according to the following criteria:

forcibly or naturally the air in the premises moves;
exhaust or supply type of device;
what kind of service is provided: local or general;
the presence of channels for air transmission;
type-setting or monoblock design.

The choice depends on the area and purpose of the premises, the amount of equipment and people in it, and the type of their activity. In all cases, natural extraction is preferred as it is the most economical option.

How ventilation systems are checked

Ventilation systems are subject to inspection, which can be emergency or routine. Checking their work is done using an anemometer. It is introduced into the ventilation duct, while ensuring the flow of air into the room.

In the branches of the mine, the air speed must be at least 3 m / s.

The measurement results must be recorded.

They are recorded by devices, and then a ventilation test report is drawn up. It should provide data on how efficiently the system is working and whether it complies with the design standards.

Conclusion

Checking ventilation in an apartment is a simple operation that must be done in order to maintain an optimal microclimate.

In case of violations in its work, you need to know what the owner of the home can do and in what cases he should contact the management company.

Many residents of multi-storey buildings, especially old buildings, can tell about what culinary preferences their neighbors have, what they indulged themselves with for dinner and what they served for lunch. However, we are not talking about telepathy, the neighbor's menu can be recognized simply by the smell that is felt in the apartment.

If this happens all the time, then it is necessary to clean the ventilation, which has ceased to cope with the functions assigned to it. Our recommendations will help to restore normal air exchange in the apartment. Minor blockages can be removed by yourself, and to solve more difficult tasks will have to call specialists.

We will tell you how the ventilation system at home works, what are the causes and symptoms of its failure. Here you will learn how to arrange the exhaust air removal and the supply of fresh air. For visual perception, photo collections, diagrams, videos are attached to the article.

The air we breathe in the apartment only seems clean. In fact, it absorbs all the smells coming from the kitchen, carbon monoxide from the stove. It gets dust particles, lint from clothes, carpets, pet hair.

Harmful microorganisms and bacteria accumulate in the air, which contribute to the development serious diseases, moisture and steam from the bathroom cause the formation of fungus and captivity. All this negatively affects the microclimate of the room, contributes to the appearance of lung diseases, allergies and other ailments.

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Ventilation helps to avoid negative health effects, which performs several important functions:

ensures the supply of clean air to the apartment,
allows you to remove odors, dust, bacteria, carbon monoxide and other harmful components from the room;
regulates the level of humidity.

Ventilation is one of the vital engineering communications apartment building. The State Commission will never accept an object in which the ventilation system is absent or faulty.

With insufficient air circulation and poor ventilation, mold and mildew can form on the walls of the room.

The device of the general ventilation system

Intra-building ventilation is a complex engineering system, its arrangement depends on a number of factors, among which the most important is the total number of storeys of the building.

Ventilation shafts in multi-storey buildings are made, for example:

Each apartment has its own exhaust duct with access to the roof.
Exhaust ducts from the apartments are connected into one horizontal box, which collects all the incoming air, and then through a common duct leads to the roof.
Exhaust satellite channels leave each apartment in a common shaft leading to a warm attic, which is used as an intermediate chamber. In the attic there is one large extractor hood to bring all the air out to the roof.

Ventilation performed according to the first scheme is effective for low-rise buildings. It was very common in the old days, when houses were mainly built no higher than four stories. The arrangement of such a system requires a lot of space, and it is impractical to use it for tall houses, therefore today it is practically not used.

The second scheme was widely used in Khrushchev houses and in houses of 9-16-storey buildings. In new buildings, the latter scheme is most often used, which is considered the most efficient ventilation system for high-rise buildings.

The figure shows four schemes used to equip an exhaust system in apartment buildings... The first is used in 3-4-storey buildings, the second and third are used in 5-9 buildings, the fourth scheme is used in modern high-rise buildings (+)

Natural air exchange in the apartment

There are a number of requirements that ventilation in living quarters must meet.

In accordance with GOST 30494-2011, it must provide:

air quality indoors not lower than permissible limits (up to 1000 СО2 cm3 / m3);
optimal humidity premises within 30-60%;
air flow speed no more than 0.2 m / s.

Natural ventilation is used in apartment buildings. In each apartment (bathroom, toilet, kitchen, closet) there are exhaust ducts through which the exhaust dirty air leaves the room. Streams of clean air enter the apartment through the vents, cracks in the windows and doors.

So that air can circulate freely throughout the apartment, between the floor and interior doors leave small gaps of 1-2 cm

Such a ventilation scheme was previously used everywhere in the construction of five and nine-story houses. In the old days, houses were installed wooden windows, which, due to the large number of slots, did an excellent job with their function.

However, in new houses, this scheme works ineffectively, since metal-plastic window structures are sealed and do not allow air to pass through. In modern buildings, forced ventilation systems and various systems are installed that provide optimal performance in-house ventilation.

The supply ventilation unit can be located directly above the glass unit, as in the figure, or on the wall in the immediate vicinity of the window structure

The reasons for the ineffective operation of the hood

Problems in the operation of the exhaust system are not by hearsay familiar to the owners of apartments built in the Soviet era. Residents of new buildings for the most part are deprived of the pleasure of attending a meal of neighbors, since new houses are equipped with modern forced ventilation complexes.

Such systems do not allow extraneous odors into the apartment.

Cobwebs, dirt and dust accumulated in the exhaust duct are one of the main reasons for insufficient air circulation in the room.

Reason # 1. The decline in ventilation efficiency in old houses is, in principle, a fairly predictable process. The main reason is a banal clogging of the ventilation duct, in which debris, dirt, dust and other waste coming from the room accumulate over time.

As a result, the outlet narrows and becomes unable to fully process the intake of dirty air.

In apartment buildings, united by a common ventilation shaft, pollution from individual ducts enters the common building system. Gradually, the mine becomes clogged with debris and can become completely clogged. A process lasting for years can lead to the fact that the functioning ventilation system will be paralyzed.

This problem can be solved by eliminating the root causes of their partial or complete blocking.

Reason # 2. Another prerequisite contributing to the deterioration of air exchange is the presence of a powerful kitchen hood... However, this is understandable. Intra-house natural ventilation is designed for an air flow rate of up to 90 m 3 / hour.

One hood creates an air flow of more than 1000 m 3 / hour, naturally, adjacent ventilation ducts that go into a common shaft suffer from this. And if the hood is not one, but every second neighbor? The answer is obvious.

The hood significantly improves the microclimate in the neighboring kitchen, but it can also have a negative effect on the operation of natural ventilation in other apartments connected by a common ventilation shaft.

Reason number 3. Replacing wooden windows with metal-plastic ones is also a factor that negatively affects the performance of the ventilation system. It turns out that the tightness inherent in modern double-glazed windows does not always play into the hands of residents of old houses.

V Soviet times only the lazy did not scold the builders who made mistakes in the installation of windows and doors. As it turned out today, the "guilty" worked strictly according to the instructions for the benefit of the residents, since for the full functioning of natural ventilation, gaps are necessary, which were in abundance in old wooden windows.

The holes provide a constant flow of fresh air from the street, and the sealed metal-plastic structures, on the contrary, block it. As a result, humidity rises in the room, the windows fog up, mold and mildew form on the walls.

Modern double-glazed windows cannot provide full air exchange in the apartment. multi-storey building which applies natural system ventilation. Misted windows indicate excessive humidity in the room and the need to use forced ventilation devices.

Reason # 4... To a large extent, the operation of the ventilation system depends on the season. Most often, problems with the hood manifest themselves during a hot period, while in winter the exhaust hatch functions properly.

The fact is that the efficiency of a system with natural ventilation is in direct proportion to the difference in temperature inside and outside the building.

In summer, the temperature outside and in the apartment is almost the same, which is why problems appear. According to the old SNiPs, it was assumed that in hot weather, air exchange would be carried out by ventilating the room with open windows.

Signs of an imminent need for cleaning

The reasons listed above bad job ventilation speaks about one thing - the system needs constant monitoring and periodic cleaning.

You can understand that the ventilation duct needs to be cleaned by the following signs:

dust, cobwebs, debris have accumulated near the exhaust hole;
the ventilation grill is covered with black bloom, soot and grease;
in the summer, the apartment began to heat up very quickly;
after wet cleaning after a short period of time, dust appears again;
drafts that occur in the apartment when opening front door are much weaker than before.

To finally make sure that the ventilation needs to be cleaned, you can use each ventilation hole. This can be done quite simply with the help of available tools. When checking the draft, it is necessary that at least one of the vents in the apartment be open.

Such a grill clearly indicates that ventilation in the apartment practically does not work, and the exhaust hole requires urgent cleaning.

Home methods of checking the performance of ventilation ducts:

Bring a burning candle, lighter or lighted match to the ventilation grill. If there is good draft in the duct, the flame will be directed towards the hood. A fire burning evenly indicates a lack of ventilation.
Take a piece of paper or newspaper and attach it to the hole. During normal operation of the ventilation system, the paper is attracted to the grate, and it does not fall.

If it turns out that the ventilation is not functioning at all or is working extremely poorly, it is necessary to clean it. Cleaning of ventilation ducts in an apartment building is performed by specialized services. In their arsenal there are ventilation ducts.

But if the need arose, each tenant of the house can clean his own section of the duct on his own.

When testing draft with an open flame, be very careful not to accidentally ignite the cobwebs and accumulated debris inside the vent. This is especially true for residents of gasified houses, where a fire may occur due to a gas leak in one of the apartment buildings.

Ventilation inspection by licensed services

The ventilation system is a common property of the house, and is responsible for its maintenance and safe operation. Management Company... The Government Decree No. 410 developed the rules that should be followed by the Criminal Code when checking and cleaning indoor ventilation ducts.

According to the Rules, the inspection of chimneys and ventilation, as well as their cleaning, must be carried out by specialized, licensed companies. The check is carried out at any reorganization or repair of the system, as well as if a lack of traction was detected.

Diagnostics of the exhaust duct functioning is carried out by a special device - an anemometer, which measures and analyzes the air flow rate

Periodicity scheduled inspection- three times a year (before, after and in the middle heating season). The specialists have professional equipment, which they use to check the performance of the ventilation system.

A pneumatic brushing machine is used to clean the dirt. In addition, the canals are disinfected.

Self-cleaning of the ventilation duct

In spite of existing rules, many management companies do not appear in the apartments of tenants for years to check the performance of the ventilation system. Therefore, residents of high-rise buildings are forced to periodically diagnose and clean their exhaust openings on their own.

For lightly soiled exhaust air, results can be achieved with a conventional brush.

The ventilation hatch can be cleaned with insignificant contamination, but if the dirt has accumulated in it for years, then it is better to call specialists all the same.

Self-cleaning is carried out as follows:

Remove ventilation grilles, they are well cleaned of dirt and dust and washed under running water.
They clean the walls of the ventilation duct that you get to. For work, use a metal brush or wire.
Clean the hole from debris with a vacuum cleaner.

Actually, this is all the homework for cleaning. ventilation holes end. If there is a back draft in the duct and the smells of neighbors reach the apartment, you can replace the old ventilation grill with.

If they did not lead to the desired result, and the draft in the channel remained at the same level, then there is a blockage in the common shaft. This is the work of special services that can be called through the UK.

Licensed companies use professional equipment and special cleaning technologies, which are selected after a thorough examination of the canal and taking into account its current state

System upgrades to improve performance

In houses old building mechanical cleaning of the ventilation shaft, even by specialized services, does not always bring the desired effect. However, it is possible to increase air circulation in the apartment. There are several quite available ways improved ventilation.

If you decide to replace old wooden windows with modern metal-plastic structures, choose double-glazed windows equipped with a micro-ventilation function. If ordinary plastic windows are purchased, additional devices can be installed on them to provide fresh air from the street.

For example, there are, you can additionally purchase special fittings that allow you to loosely close the windows.

Accessories for multi-stage ventilation will allow you to organize more efficient ventilation in the apartment

To enhance air circulation in the room, special supply and exhaust fans allow. There are window, ceiling and. The toilet and bathroom can be directly at the entrance to the ventilation duct instead of a decorative grill.

The organization of the system will help to solve the problem of ventilation in the bathroom. forced draft, the functions of which are performed by a conventional fan

The fan is powered by electrical network, it can be connected to a general switch and then it will turn on with the light. You can draw an additional line and connect the device to a separate switch so that it works autonomously.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

How to independently check the operation of ventilation in an apartment, you can find out from the video plot:

What to do if home ventilation does not work well, restoring the exhaust duct to work:

How is the professional cleaning of ventilation shafts in apartment buildings carried out:

Ventilation plays a leading role in ensuring safe living in an apartment. A careless attitude to this system and neglect of the rules of care can lead to health problems, and for residents of gasified houses it can result in even more serious consequences.

Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the state of ventilation and, if necessary, contact specialized services.

If you have experience in cleaning the ventilation duct of an apartment, please share this information with our readers. Leave comments and ask questions on the topic in the form below.