In urban environments, people spend most of their time indoors. The lack of fresh air threatens to reduce performance, deterioration of health.
And if we add to this the constant presence of odors, mustiness, dampness, mold in the corners? Knowing how to check the ventilation in the apartment, you will not bring the situation to the extreme.
We described in detail all proven methods of testing the effectiveness of ventilation systems. Here you will find useful information about the device and options for improving the ventilation. Information is complemented by visual illustrations and video tutorials.
The content of the article:
- Thrust check in the vents
- The reasons for the lack of air flow
- Troubleshoot ventilation ducts
- Planned inspection of the ventilation of apartment buildings
- Problems in the working system
- Whims of ventilation on the highest floors
- Cleaning the ventilation ducts
- Methods to optimize the ventilation in the apartment
- Conclusions and useful video on the topic
Thrust check in the vents
Let's cut a few strips of thin paper 20 cm long, 2-3 cm wide and bring them alternately to the ventilation holes in the apartment at a distance of 5-7 cm. When ventilation is working properly, the ends of the strips should touch the edge of the vent, but not be pulled into it.
Suppose a paper strip to the outlet is attracted barely, does not deviate at all or deviates in the opposite direction. Ventilation is definitely bad, but you need to find out what's the matter - either clogged ventilation passages, or there is no air flow.
Open the door and window, repeat the experiment with a piece of paper. If this time the strip pulled into the outlet - the ventilation shaft is in order, but otherwise you should look for the cause of its failure.
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The ventilation system in apartments of high-rise buildings is designed to form a stable air exchange: the flow of fresh air per unit of time and the outflow of the same volume outside the room
The ventilation system of high-rise residential buildings is designed for the natural movement of air flow. With the flow of air through the gaps in the window and door frames, with the outflow through the ventilation grilles
The simplest but most unsafe way to check the effect of ventilation is to bring a burning match to the air vent.
Similarly, the work of ventilation can be checked with a piece of paper. Under normal conditions, the sheet is pressed against the grille with a stream of air, the fire of the match is deflected in the same direction. If the opposite happens, ventilation does not work.
The most accurate information about the action of the ventilation system is given by the anemometer - a device that measures the speed of movement of the air mass
Any control work to determine the health of the ventilation system is carried out in cool weather. On a warm, windless day, natural ventilation may not work at all due to equal pressure in and outside the room.
In order for ventilation in high-rise apartments to work smoothly, it is necessary to regularly clean the grille covering the exhaust duct
If the ventilation cannot cope with the exhaust air, the ventilation shaft is probably clogged. The management company is obliged to clean it.
Ventilation grille in the apartment
Natural air movement system
A simple but dangerous way to check traction
Thrust check with a piece of paper
Ventilation check with anemometer
Air velocity measurement
Clogged ventilation grille
Clogged ventilation shaft
The same can be checked with a flame of a match, lighter or candle, with cigarette smoke, but this is highly not recommended. The probability of gas leakage and its accumulation in the ventilation shaft is small, but a piece of wall broken through to its neighbors is the minimum of the serious consequences that can occur in this case.
In order to avoid ignition and explosion of flammable substances accidentally accumulated in the ventilation system use open fire to check the ventilation draft, do not endanger your and others of life
Ventilation is not only checked by the “yes / no” criterion, but also measures the speed of air movement in the ventilation duct with an anemometer.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
- fix the instrument readings;
- the measurement result and the size of the ventilation grille in diameter should be entered in the formula below;
- we get how much air passes ventilation system (cube. m / h).
The formula for calculating:
Q = V * S * 3600
- Q - air volume in cubic meters. m / h;
- V - air velocity in m / s (measured by an anemometer);
- S is the cross-sectional area of the vent in m2 (we measure by tape measure).
Standard for kitchen with electric stove - 60 cu. m / h for a bathroom - 25 cu. m / h Measurements should be made at a temperature range of at least 13-15 ° C (for example, outside + 7 ° C, and in an apartment + 21 ° C). The outdoor temperature should not exceed + 5-7ºС.
When warming the ventilation becomes worse, the test will be unreliable. The stronger the air warms up outside, the greater the measurement error.
Values of the average air flow rate supplied by a duct of a certain diameter are obtained empirically.
If the thermometer in the apartment shows a plus, and in the street at this moment a minus, the internal air rushes out of the room through the ventilation duct upwards, because it is lighter and warmer. But with the equalization of temperatures, the thrust in the channel weakens. When in an apartment, for example, + 22ºС, and outside the windows - + 32ºС, less heated internal air stays at the bottom and does not go to the ventilation duct.
The volume of regularly updated air required to perform work and rest in the premises is regulated by a collection of SNiP 41-01-2003
On hot summer days, even absolutely prosperous. natural ventilation ceases to cope or switches to work in the opposite direction. But this is not a reason to consider it faulty.
In our apartment buildings there is a forced-air ventilation of the gravitational principle of action. It works according to the laws of physics, the air masses spontaneously enter the premises and are pulled out through the exhaust duct.
For home use, it is enough to buy a simple model of the anemometer, while professionals use more accurate devices with remote recorders and built-in calculation options.
Ways and features ventilation devices meticulously dismantled in one of the most popular articles of our site.
The reasons for the lack of air flow
So, the test of traction showed that the ventilation passages are free, and the air in the apartment becomes stagnant, the kitchen stench and, even worse, the toilet scent does not disappear.
The fact is that the ventilation of the majority of our apartments was originally designed for fresh air intake. in a natural way through the old wooden window and door structures due to the loose fit of the valves, the presence gaps.
Natural ventilation in the apartment: 1 - air enters the room from the street, 2 - flows from room to room, 3 - goes into the ventilation duct. The performance of such a ventilation system depends on the season and weather.
And now completely different high-density building materials, various heaters, sealants, and also plastic windows are used. We strive to make our homes warm with protection from the penetration of noise and cold from outside, and in the end we block the air flow.
Plastic windows and metal doors clog the room so that it becomes airtight.
The air does not pass, there is no draft in the ventilation holes. It is especially bad in the winter when the windows are not opened even for airing, so as not to force the rooms. But the problem is easy to solve.
It is enough to slightly open the window, and air will flow into the gap formed. He will go through the apartment and reach the vents, which are usually located in the kitchen and bathroom.
Unfortunately, in the winter, if we ventilate our housing, it is different. We open wide all the windows at once, but for a short time. At the same time, the air is completely renewed, the apartment does not have time to cool down, but the ventilation still does not work and will not work.
And what about summer? In the summer months it will not be better, since in winter natural ventilation causes the temperature difference to work (internal and external), and when these temperatures equalize with the summer, the movement of air flows it stops.
Troubleshoot ventilation ducts
The first thing that comes to mind is the clogging of ventilation ducts. Remove the grille with vent window and look into it. Garbage found within reach can be cleaned by hand or vacuumed.
It is technically difficult to remove garbage directly from the ventilation shaft, and this kind of independent action is prohibited to individuals.
The ventilation shaft, built of brick, has an uneven inner edge, its lumen quickly becomes clogged and may even become completely covered with dirt. Better if the barrel is made of smoother concrete blocks.
If you suspect obstruction of ventilation ducts should be called through the management company of specialists, in the arsenal of which there are the necessary diagnostic devices and tools.
In the detected debris there is a lot of construction waste. Unscrupulous builders, doing repairs and alterations, are often deliberately dumped litter into the ventilation shaft, without bothering to take it to the yard.
The result is a blocked vent. Identifying such violations should also deal with the management company. But even without this, with each successive year of operation, the dirt on the walls narrows the lumen of the ventilation channel, and the draft weakens. Dust accumulates in the ventilation system, a web is formed. From above the foliage flies into the mine, birds fall into it.
The damage caused by shrinkage of the foundation, cracking of the walls and other consequences of the inevitable aging of the building also contribute to this. Clogged channels do not cope with the task.
Planned inspection of the ventilation of apartment buildings
Because ventilation ducts are common to the home, their operation is provided by the managing organization, whose representatives are obliged to check the condition ventilation, and if necessary, clean the mines and repair them on the basis of a license or enter into necessary agreements with specialized by companies.
You can eliminate the blockage in the ventilation duct from the roof of the house, if it is located at the level of the upper floors. At the bottom often have to disassemble the wall of the mine with landings
The rules of ventilation check give answers to a lot of questions:
- how often the ventilation ducts are checked;
- the presence of traction should be checked on the apartments or enough to examine only the ventilation shaft;
- whether the frequency of ventilation checks in the bathrooms and in the kitchen is the same;
- Is the management organization responsible, or is the owner responsible for checking the apartment?
In apartment buildings, ventilation duct inspections are carried out 1-2 times a year - this depends on whether there are gas appliances or only electricity is used. In the presence of gas, ventilation is checked twice - in summer and in winter. If serious malfunctions are revealed, it is prohibited to use gas appliances until they are fixed.
It is impossible to alter, repair, improve without authorization ventilation in the apartmentas it is interconnected with the social system. All actions are coordinated with the relevant services.
Problems in the working system
It happens that the ventilation works for a long time, remaining intact, and then suddenly stops or begins to drive the air in the opposite direction. Indeed, if we discard all the reasons described above, it turns out that the problems with ventilation do not end there.
Let us examine how the natural ventilation of an apartment building with a vertical collecting channel is arranged.
The air enters the individual channel, rises parallel to the common shaft and enters it through the opening on the next floor, before reaching the stub separating the next individual channel belonging to the upper flat
The main ventilation shaft leads from the ground floor to the attic. All apartments are equipped with individual ventilation ducts (sleeves or satellite channels).
Each of them from the ventilation outlet in a particular apartment rises up one floor and is embedded in the main canal is slightly lower than the same individual ventilation run belonging to the apartment on the floor above.
The air from the apartment through the satellite channel moves to the common shaft and there it moves further to the attic, and from there - to the street. These satellite channels feed the general stream, and if air stops flowing through them, its volume and speed of movement through the main shaft will also decrease.
A hose that has ceased to function in one apartment will not disable all ventilation along the riser in a 5th, 9th, or 16th floor house. But the more apartments fall out of the general ventilation system, the weaker it is. Having reached the critical limit, the ventilation fails: the air flow reaching the level of the attic is so frail that it cannot push itself further.
Moreover, he goes down, and the first two are the back sleeves of the last two floors. To protect the upper floors from reverse thrust, individual channels lead directly to the roof. But to find out why the flow of air into the ventilation shaft is reduced, it is necessary in individual apartments.
Next to the common mine there are individual ventilation channels for the kitchen and bathroom. At the level of each floor, they have access to a common shaft and are blocked by plugs
Consider a two- or three-room dwelling in which the kitchen and bathroom / toilet are separated at different ends, and in this connection two independent ventilation ducts have been built. One serves the kitchen, and the other - a bathroom. This pair of channels pulls stale air from the apartment into the ventilation system, it is replaced by fresh air.
Only the outside air flow is considered correct. The widespread replacement of poor but breathing wooden window frames for double-glazed windows disrupts the circulation process. They do not let air through; temporary opening of windows for airing does not help, since in order for ventilation to take place, the air flow must be constant.
If the entrance door does not close so tightly, then air can flow from the staircase. In terms of quality, it is not better than that available in the apartment, but it supports the viability of the ventilation. Although do you need such a ventilation system in which the air in the house moves - with the smell of tobacco (often smoke in the entrance), etc.?
When there is no internal air flow through the entrance door, one of the two ventilation channels in the apartment (with a stronger load) will start pulling the air out of the second channel. Those. happens overturning thrust in one duct at the expense of another. The effect is the same - the alien exhaust air in the apartment, the mass of unwanted odors and aromas.
Whims of ventilation on the highest floors
In addition to the vertical output of the ventilation shaft to the outside, there are other engineering structures of the ventilation system - with a horizontal junction box in the attic, having a single exit to the roof, and with a large intermediate ventilation compartment-drive, which is the attic itself, from where the air moves out along a single common ventilation mine.
In many residential apartment buildings, one of these two ventilation schemes is found - with a horizontal collecting channel (left) or with a warm attic (right).
In order for the ventilation in the apartments of the upper floors to work normally, the air must pass upwards. at least several meters along a vertical shaft, but the attic serves as a hindrance to this, and following:
- in the circuit with a horizontal box - air from all floors reaches the attic level and meets on the way the ceiling of this box. Without turning horizontally, he seeks to find other passages, and they often become located near the ventilation arms of the upper floors;
- in the scheme with access to the attic - in the satellite channels of the upper floors the air flow is not accelerated enough to flow into the volumetric attic, and the exchange of air in the apartments slows down.
In the first case, the ventilation is forced in the opposite direction, and all the smells from the lower apartments penetrate to the residents above. Two solutions to the problem are to upgrade the junction box, if it is technically executable, or separate the satellite channels of the upper floors from the box, warm them up and bring them directly into the mine, leaving on the roof.
In the second case, on the upper floors, and so weak traction, and if the attic is blown, it also can be reversed. Therefore, the length of satellite channels on the upper floors increase, bring to the attic higher and they turn to a common shaft so that the air flow from the lower floors carries with them weaker upper streams.
Cleaning the ventilation ducts
As for the main ventilation shaft, it cannot be touched by private individuals. Submit a complaint of poor ventilation to the management company and wait for the experts. Before their arrival, you must notify your neighbors so that they protect themselves from possible exhaust of black fine dust from the ventilation grilles.
The classic way to clean the ventilation ducts with a ruff. But it is confidently supplanted by modern methods based on the use of technology.
According to the results of the inspection of the ventilation ducts, the commission issues an act with instructions for operation and repair.
In the course of the survey, the cross-section of the canals is measured, the length of the narrowed sections, paying attention to the condition:
- mine walls (cracks, etc.);
- connecting pipes;
- horizontal segments;
- air inlets, tips, hatches, etc.
For cleaning moves used industrial vacuum cleaners, mechanical devices with a variety of nozzles. The mine is illuminated by searchlight lamps, its insides are examined with the help of digital cameras and video cameras.
Does not require much time and cost. repair of ventilation ducts. Destroyed areas of the channel are restored by installing metal or ceramic pipes inside, lining them with fastening solutions, and lining with polymers.
The ventilation passage from the apartment to the common house shaft can and must be cleaned independently:
- move furniture away, remove unnecessary items, move the step ladder to the wall;
- below the vent hole, glue paper or paper to the wall with masking tape so as not to scrub the wallpaper or tiles from dirt, cover the floor;
- remove the decorative grille;
- Wearing gloves on your hands, gently shovel dirt and debris out of the vent.
Remove residues of dirt with a vacuum cleaner, replace the previously cleaned grill or replace a new one with a new one. After cleaning, check the draft again with the window slightly open.
Methods to optimize the ventilation in the apartment
If the ventilation in the apartment is disrupted due to the installation of sealed double-glazed windows, then use the ventilation mode. We are familiar with summer airing - it is a fully open sash or its position at an angle due to the swing-out mechanism.
Winter is otherwise called a micro-slot; to go into this mode, the window handle must be turned 45º while the sash is pressed.
In the winter mode of ventilation, the gap between the sash and frame is visually and not noticeable, but the air leaking into it is enough to maintain ventilation
Another way out is to use fresh air vent valves. They are mounted in the outer wall, in the joints filled with mounting foam between the window block and the wall, in the window profile, below the window sill.
In winter, the ventilation valves slightly pulls cold, but in the hot summer air may not flow into them at all. Therefore, it makes sense to additionally equip the entrances to the ventilation ducts with exhaust fans.
The bathroom has to deal with high humidity. Waterproof fans, built into the ventilation holes, independently turn on, reacting to an increase in humidity, and turn off when the evaporation disappears, the air becomes drier.
In toilets, a fan with a motion sensor and a timer can be installed in the ventilation system. The fan automatically begins to rotate when someone enters, and stops after the time set in the timer. In the kitchen, fans with air quality sensors that detect cigarette smoke and other unwanted odors will be helpful.
Valve flow characteristics are different, there are models with adjustment, they usually put from two to four valves per apartment.
And finally, about kitchen hoods. Their capacity is enough to miss a significant part of the air available in the apartment during the work. If the natural air inflow is not enough, the return flow of air from the bathroom ventilation shaft will inevitably begin. Limit the use of the hood and open the window when you turn it on.
Conclusions and useful video on the topic
What to do if ventilation does not work:
As soon as you find any abnormalities in the ventilation system, take action immediately. If you do not cope on your own, invite experts.
If you have any questions when reading the information provided by us, there is valuable information, we found flaws in the article, we invite you to comment. Please write comments in the box below.
