help! babies room smells of smoke

[firsttimer78]

I'll try to keep this brief...we live in an old town house. The room that we (me, DH and 20wo DS) sleep in has wooden shutters. When they're closed, bare stone work is exposed (you'll see why I think this is relevant!) A couple of weeks ago two young guys moved into the flat next door and since then our room periodically STINKS of cigarette smoke. I've just gone in to feed DS and the place reeks like a manky ashtray :( I can only assume it's either somehow coming through the exposed stone work (how I don't know!) or they're leaning out the window to smoke and it's blowing back in. I'm really worried that this is an unhealthy environment to be sleeping in but don't know how to fix it - his own room is up another flight of stairs and I feel he's too little to sleep that far away from us :( Help! (thanks for reading)

oh, you have my sympathy! i absolutely detest the smell of cigarette smoke, and we live in a flat, with smokers below. it's amazing how the fag smoke can penetrate floors and walls. one of our bedrooms periodically smells smokey, and it's def coming from downstairs. also when the guy downstairs goes to smoke out in the garden, it drifts through our french windows...[hmm.] There's nothing much you can do i don't think, except maybe try talking to them super politely about whether there's any way they could smoke elsewhere? . it's never been enough of a problem for us for me to contemplate doing that, though i've been known to shut our balcony doors rather audibly and obviously when he's out in the garden puffing away.
It's a very difficult situation as they are not doing anything wrong as such. but it is dire, from your point of view....i imagine the health risks are pretty marginal, but you could always try bigging that up to your neighbours, and just be a bit coy about it, saying you're probably a silly paranoid mother, etc. if they're nice they might buy into it?

That's what we're going to try - although it's two young (18 or thereabouts) guys so I'm not feeling very hopeful. Other option is to phone landlord and see if it's supposed to be a no-smoking rent I suppose! Urgh.

We have the same issue with our DS's room - plus next doors kitchen is on the other side of the wall so occasionally we get cooking smells. We got an air purifier which helps heaps - I don't have it on all the time, just when I can smell anything, and it works a treat. We got this one.

Oh, never thought of that - thanks! (it's not so bad tonight - I suspect they get paid on a Friday and spend Fri/Sat nights living it up!!)

Hi Firstimer, we have this problem too, when our downstairs neighbours smoke in their flat our flat absolutely reeks of smoke. We have spoken to them (very politely) and said about the health risks to the baby (dh explained about risk of cot death, although she is a bit old for that now). We are moving out soon though, so it was more a case of, until we move out, please please please please can you not smoke in your flat because of the baby.

It really depends on how nice they are though and if they are 18 year old blokes they might not understand. Good idea to find out if it's a non-smoking let though.

Good luck.