Will sealing a vent cause any hazards? And how would I go about it correctly?

[epmarshall]

Hi all,

 

I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this question.

 

Here is my problem. There is a small vent in my apartment's kitchen above the stove that usually doesn't have any air coming from it. Just recently there's a very small amount of air starting to come through it and it smells rancid and might even be cigarette smoke. Either way it can't be healthy and it's making my entire kitchen stink and I can't stand spending time in there so it's disrupting my daily tasks.

 

Basically, I'm wondering if it's safe to seal this vent off somehow and looking for suggestions on how to do so. I don't think the vent is functional because there's just a pitiful flow of air that I almost didn't notice earlier today when I was looking for the source of the smell. And it was already effectively blocked when I moved in because before I cleaned it, it was so clogged with grime that air wouldn't have been able to get through anyway. I am thinking it might be someone else's portable air conditioner causing air to shift around in an apartment below us and a small amount is coming in here. It's gotten unbearably hot lately so I know I'm not the only one who purchased a portable air conditioner the past few days.

 

Any ideas or suggestions? I don't know much about how apartment ventilation systems work, so I don't want to jump into this and mess something up or cause the vent to overheat and have a hazard occur. Any other thoughts on how to fix the problem are welcome, too.

 

Thanks for any help! I would appreciate it very much.

[epmarshall]

Update. I fixed the issue, I think. I fastened some spare insulating fabric over the vent and it seems to be working.

[Phi for All]

There is a small vent in my apartment's kitchen above the stove that usually doesn't have any air coming from it.

 

Let's make sure I understand. A stove normally has an oven below, with a cooktop that has burners (could be open flame, could be metal coils, could be glass). The cooktop is often required to be vented with a hood above it, and a vent that goes up (usually through cabinets above the stove). It should be vented to the roof of the apartment.

 

If you have a vent above your stove, it should have a fan in it. If it doesn't, it's not going to work well to vent away smoke from the cooktop.

 

I hate to see you plug up something that is supposed to provide ventilation. Can you tell if the vent goes up through your ceiling?

[epmarshall]

 

Let's make sure I understand. A stove normally has an oven below, with a cooktop that has burners (could be open flame, could be metal coils, could be glass). The cooktop is often required to be vented with a hood above it, and a vent that goes up (usually through cabinets above the stove). It should be vented to the roof of the apartment.

 

If you have a vent above your stove, it should have a fan in it. If it doesn't, it's not going to work well to vent away smoke from the cooktop.

 

I hate to see you plug up something that is supposed to provide ventilation. Can you tell if the vent goes up through your ceiling?

 

Yes, my oven is a normal setup with metal coil burners and the vent is right near the burners on the wall. There is only the one vent above the stove and I don't think there is a fan in it. I am not sure how to tell if the vent goes up through the ceiling. I don't think it does, but I'm just not sure what to look for in order to tell.

 

It looks pretty much just like this in case that helps.

http://www.windowswest.com.au/images/DATA/gallery/large_ferry-style-door-vent-detail-austalimage.jpg

[Phi for All]

 

Yes, my oven is a normal setup with metal coil burners and the vent is right near the burners on the wall. There is only the one vent above the stove and I don't think there is a fan in it. I am not sure how to tell if the vent goes up through the ceiling. I don't think it does, but I'm just not sure what to look for in order to tell.

 

It looks pretty much just like this in case that helps.

http://www.windowswest.com.au/images/DATA/gallery/large_ferry-style-door-vent-detail-austalimage.jpg

 

So this vent is on the wall, just above the burners. Is there anything above the vent, like a hood or microwave?

 

If you were in the US, I'd say that looks like a return air vent, but you wouldn't want to vent your cooking odors right back through your forced air system (if that's what you have). So I'd have to guess that your apartment building is venting all the stovetops through a single stack, vertical ductwork that pulls the smells from cooking out of the apartments above and below you, from the first floor to the roof.

 

There may be something blocking the vent on the roof, and now cooking odors from below aren't being cycled past your vent anymore. That may be why you can smell strange things. I would report it to your landlord. The system should be either powered by a fan, or rely on the difference between internal and external pressure to cycle air efficiently. Something's wrong if you can smell your neighbors through the vent.

[fiveworlds]

 

Basically, I'm wondering if it's safe to seal this vent off

 

Above the stove?? Nope when you cook if you don't vent the air out then it can cause all sorts of problems including micro-organism buildup, greasy walls and poisoning from nasty gases. If the stove doesn't have an extractor fan then you should probably get one.