Quote:
Originally Posted by Drolefille
If you're a non-smoker, there probably is nothing that can be done that you won't smell the smoke throughout the house. Especially since it's in the basement and probably seeps up through the whole house that probably has air ducts going throughout. I don't know if smokers don't notice, but non-smokers do. Having to smoke outside the house or apartment or building is a pretty common occurrence and I suspect this house is more unusual than not and the smokers (as well as the "I only smoke when I drink"-ers will have to suck it up and go outside in the cold to smoke eventually.
Or you know, not smoke, but that's another issue.
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Agree with all of this, though for the record some smokers do notice. I do. Stale smoke is way worse than just smelling a cigarette, and it's impossible to get rid of totally. I do not often smoke in my car and roll the windows down totally when I do and it still reeks...and will forever. I imagine a closed off basement full of smokers would be totally rancid. I don't have a single friend that allows cigarette smoking in house and neither do the fraternities here.
I've gotten into this debate before with other smokers, but I've been smoking for about 3 years now...and going 4 or so hours without one is just not that big of a deal. When I visit my parents I do not smoke at all...which sometimes means a week. No big. I've been told for some people it's torture. Fine. I believe it is for some people, but I'm willing to bet there are just as many smokers like myself out there...as well as the smoke-when-drink crowd that aren't actually addicted at all. Go outside. If traffic in and out is that big of a deal, they can smoke before arriving and light up as soon as they leave. I'm betting the smell of stale cigarette smoke over the years would end up causing way more problems than smokers outside.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnall
All these tangent issues aside...
It's a very legitimate issue that they can't have a congregation of people outside during a party. It attracts attention. An open door lets out noise. Constant in/out traffic indicates an uncontrolled entrance, which (in my state) means law enforcement can come in without probable cause.
Having parties shut down for noise &/or people getting providing/MIP tickets is worse than dealing with a smell issue. That said, the smell issue has become a problem too, so they have to deal with it now.
I don't know the facility we're talking about here, so it's hard to find the easy solution that probably exists.
I would not be looking at filtered ventilation systems. They are expensive and require too much maintenance.
I'd try to figure something else out that eliminates the other issues with people smoking outside. For instance, is there something like a back porch I could tarp off & put a portable heater in during events (a lot of bars/restaurants do this with their patio areas when temps dip and they want to keep use of the space). If that's workable, I'd consider walling it in later on. If not, I could inexpensively add a covered area like that without a lot of hassle.
That may not be the best solution for this specific property, but I think it's headed in the right direction. We're doing something we don't like because of XYZ. So, we just need to mitigate XYZ so those factors become the lesser of the two evils. Banning or not banning smoking doesn't seem to solve the problem.
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The smell issue will only get worse, and no amount of Stanley Steamer visits will completely remove it.
But your suggestions are good. I know the porch is one area a fraternity house here uses for smokers, and it's tarped off during especially cold party nights.
Another solution is to post a brother at the door where the smokers go out. Allow three to five out at a time. If the party is so big that this isn't practical, tell people they can't smoke. I doubt you're going to have many smokers so vehement about their rights that they leave. They should be used to it...you can't smoke in just about any restaurant, commercial building, or home now anyway.