Checking ventilation. Cleaning the ventilation shaft in the apartment

According to the current sanitary standards apartment buildings should be equipped with ventilation, in which polluted air is removed from the kitchen and bathroom, and clean air is supplied to the living rooms.

The ventilation of houses built in the last century is based on natural draft. Modern residential complexes are put into operation with roof fans and forced air exchange systems. How the ventilation system works in apartment building how to clean and improve it, read on.

The need for ventilation in an apartment building

When washing, washing dishes and taking a shower, water vapor is released into the air. Particles of pile from clothes and carpets, epithelium and hairs of pets form dust. During cooking, odors and tiny droplets of fat evaporate.

If an apartment building is not equipped with a ventilation system, all human waste products remain in the premises. Conditions dangerous for people's health and safety of their property are being created. Mold eats into walls and furniture, and occupants suffer from allergies and asthma. In such apartments, babies and the elderly feel the worst.

Functions of ventilation in a residential area:

Ensure the penetration of clean air into the apartments;
Together with the exhaust air, remove dust and other impurities harmful to health;
Regulate humidity in residential and utility rooms.

If during cooking with an open window, odors spread to neighboring rooms, the ventilation system in an apartment building is not working satisfactorily. Another indicator that the ventilation in the house is not working is an intense accumulation of dust in the corners, on the ventilation grill and under the ceiling. Within a day or two after cleaning, you can notice clouds of dust under upholstered furniture.

Most often, residents of the upper floors suffer from this. The poor draft is explained by the insufficient distance between the ventilation grill in the apartment and the end of the ventilation duct. Normally, it should be at least 2 meters. Often this condition is not met due to the presence of a warm attic in an apartment building and ventilation does not work as intended by the designers.

The principle of venting air

Most of the complaints about work are caused by ignorance of how ventilation is arranged in a panel house.

There are 2 schemes for removing dirty air from apartment buildings:

Scheme 1. The ventilation duct reaches the attic, here it goes into a horizontal box

Several sealed boxes are combined into one shaft, ending above the roof. With this principle of ventilation in an apartment building, air masses from all floors rush to the horizontal duct, from there to the common shaft and to the street. In the process of movement, the air hits the surface of the box and an area is formed high blood pressure. Air rushes into the nearest hole leading out.

Sometimes the nearest exit is the ventilation duct of the fifth floor. Normally, this should be a common ventilation shaft. Even with an optimal cross-section of the horizontal duct, back draft can be observed if the duct cover is set too low. Air bounces off the lid and "squeezes" odors coming from below into the kitchen last floor. To avoid such an undesirable effect, 2 methods are used:

Method 1. It is necessary to increase the diameter of the horizontal box in the attic by 2.5 times. In addition, "cuts" are installed inside the box. All alterations must only be carried out by trained persons. You must first consult with a specialist, since it is not always possible to use this method to improve ventilation;
Method 2. The ventilation ducts of the last floor are arranged separately, they are brought into the ventilation shaft above the duct. A separate channel should be well insulated.

Scheme 2. All ventilation ducts lead to the attic

The attic room is used as an intermediate chamber. A single ventilation shaft leads through the roof.

This method of air removal is very common in modern construction.

Most often reverse thrust does not happen on the network, but on the upper floors it is very weak. This is explained by the low height of the vertical channel (no more than 40 cm). When the attic doors or between the sections are open, there is practically no air movement either.

The standard diameter of the air ducts with such a ventilation system apartment building- 140 mm. To improve its operation, the outlets of the channels are extended due to the pipes put on them. The joints are sealed. It is enough to add 1 meter of pipe and tilt it slightly towards the central shaft.

Apartment supply and exhaust ventilation

V high-rise buildings ventilation system inflow-blowing is equipped in each apartment. The following scheme is usually used: in toilets, bathrooms and kitchens, exhaust duct outlets are located, and clean air is supplied through the vents.

In order for the air to circulate freely around the apartment, gaps of 1–2 cm are left under the interior doors.

Such a plan for the operation of ventilation in an apartment building is quite simple, but not always effective.

If the windows in the apartment fog up, periodically smell unpleasant - you need an apartment building. Often natural ventilation in an apartment building does not work due to clogging. But residents do not have the right to clean the ventilation in apartment buildings. Repair work also performed by experts. So how to clean the ventilation in the apartment?

Professional ventilation cleaning

Specialists in apartment buildings using professional equipment. First, a diagnosis of the ventilation of an apartment building is carried out. As a rule, a video camera is involved for this. It detects places of accumulation of debris and dust, destruction. Then the pneumatic brush machine removes all the dirt. At the same time, you can disinfect the mine.

You can conduct an examination of the ventilation of an apartment building in the simplest way: bring a burning candle or match to the ventilation grill. If the flame deviates towards ventilation, then all is not lost. The vertical location of the flame indicates that the natural ventilation in the house is really not working. When examining ventilation, it is necessary to check all ventilation grilles in an apartment building.

Self-cleaning ventilation

Residents of apartment buildings can dismantle ventilation grill in your apartment and clean the accessible part of the shaft with a broom or vacuum cleaner.

Before you clean the ventilation in an apartment building yourself, it is advisable to wear protective equipment: gloves, a respirator, goggles. Sometimes a perfectly serviceable and clean system does not work effectively.

In this case, you need to resort to additional means:

supply valves;
exhaust fans.

They make it possible to regulate the inflow and exhaust of air from the apartment, they are inexpensive and quite easy to install.

Basement and basement ventilation

The basement is one of essential elements ventilation system apartment building. After all, the ventilation shafts, penetrating all floors, begin precisely in the basement.

As a rule, an apartment building is organized on natural draft.

To remove raw air from the basement, common ventilation ducts are used, which exit through openings on each floor and in each apartment.

The influx of fresh air is equally important for the ventilation of the basement of an apartment building, where it is often damp and cold. This purpose is served by vents or holes in the walls of the basement, located slightly above the ground. The number of products is calculated based on the area of the building.

The area of the vents is 1/400 of the area of the building.

If the building is located in an area with a high content of radon or a limiting radiation background, the area of the vents increases to 1/100 of the area of the building.

The area of one vent can vary from 0.05 to 0.85 sq. meters.

Products with a diameter of 30 x 30 cm must be reinforced.

The shape of the ventilation holes can be any, but most often they are made rectangular or round. This form is easier to perform and looks better.

Air must be evenly distributed around the perimeter of the foundation to avoid the formation of windproof areas.

The distance from the corner to the nearest vent is 90 cm. It is advisable to do even number products and place them opposite each other. The distance to the ground is at least 20 cm. If you lower the holes below, they may be flooded with rain or spring floods.

The higher above the ground the vents are, the better.

If the foundation of the house has internal load-bearing surfaces, air vents should be made in them so that the entire ground floor apartment building.

The vents must not be closed, otherwise the whole principle of the ventilation of an apartment building will be violated. From penetration into the basement of cats and rodents, the holes are closed with a metal mesh.

So, the ventilation of an apartment building is a single system, the device of which starts in the basement and ends above the roof. Any attempts by residents to interfere with its work on their own, such as cleaning the ventilation in the apartment, dismantling its elements or altering it, entail administrative responsibility!

More about how the ventilation of an apartment building works video:

Tsugunov Anton Valerievich

Reading time: 4 minutes

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

Checking the operation of the ventilation system

Before proceeding with active actions, 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 check with the flame of a burning match or lighter. With a normally operating hood, the flame should deviate towards the ventilation grille. Many people remember similar pictures from Soviet times, calling to check the draft in the gas column and the hood in the kitchen.

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

Similarly, you need to do with all the ventilation grilles to get the full picture. In most apartments, they must be in the kitchen, bathroom or bathroom.

Causes of clogged ventilation

The most common problem leading to malfunctions in the ventilation system is clogging of the channels that conduct air. Most often this is due to the long-term accumulation of grease, soot and dust inside them, because most residents of apartment buildings are limited to wiping the outer part of the gratings.

In old houses brickwork air ducts are destroyed under the influence of time and water getting inside, seeping from above or evaporating from the bathroom, and brick fragments can fill up the ventilation shaft, interfering with air exchange. It is not uncommon for unscrupulous tenants, wanting to improve their apartment and expand their living space, destroy the ledge in which the ventilation shaft passes, blocking the access of air to the apartments of the rest of the inhabitants of the house. Uninvited tenants also contribute to blockages in ventilation: birds or wasps.

Residents 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 services the house. The maximum that residents can do on their own is to clean the ventilation ducts leading from the apartment to common pipe duct.

How to clean 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. For this you need:

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

When cleaning, do not use aggressive chemicals that can corrode and damage the walls of the shaft. It is unacceptable for debris from the ventilation duct leading from the apartment to enter the common duct. When cleaning, care must be taken: sometimes nests of wasps or hornets are found in the ventilation.

Ways to improve ventilation in the apartment

What to do if cleaning the ventilation did not help? It is possible that the air circulation inside the apartment itself is disturbed. Having dealt with the causes of this violation, it is possible to improve the ventilation of the air in the living room.

Violation of air circulation between separate rooms

The first step is to repeat the test 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 disturbed. To improve it, it is recommended that when installing doors, make a gap between their lower edge and the floor of several centimeters.

If the doors are already installed or you don’t want to make such a gap, for example, in a bathroom or a bathroom, then you can drill a series of holes in the door, tilting inward. Subsequently, they should be decorated with a fine mesh. This design will provide ventilation with tight closed doors and will not violate the privacy of people in the bathroom or bathroom.

Airtight double-glazed windows

Another cause of ventilation problems can be the installation plastic windows with glass panes. In Soviet-built houses, the influx of fresh air from the outside was implied through small cracks and gaps in wooden window frames. Qualitatively installed plastic windows in a fully closed state exclude such replenishment. As a result, the ventilation in the apartment is also disturbed. Therefore, if you are thinking about 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, it is easy to modify it yourself. There are inexpensive ventilation valves installed on the window frame and sash.

HELPFUL INFORMATION: How to assemble a shower cabin with your own hands: installation and connection rules

The word "ventilation" came to us from Ancient Rome, where it meant airing the room. Then they just opened it for this.

But in our time, this method is not suitable, so every house, apartment, and even more so - an enterprise has own system ventilation consisting of ventilation ducts and mines through which exhaust air, dust, odors are removed.

According to modern standards, the ventilation system should be cleaned at least once every six months.

According to the location, ventilation is divided into two types:

household;
production.

Household ventilation according to the method of moving air masses can be both mechanical and natural. And the production one is almost always mechanical with forced air supply.

In an ordinary apartment or small apartment, ventilation is most often natural. Air inflow occurs due to its entry through windows and doors, and outflow through the ventilation duct opening, which is usually located in the upper part of the kitchen room. In large private houses, it can also be mechanical, that is, it contains an exhaust fan.

But in any case, from time to time it needs to carry out work to clean the ventilation ducts, and sometimes to disinfect them.

It is easy to understand that the ventilation is clogged if you pay attention to the following signs:

in the house became stale;
there is almost no draft when opening the windows;
kitchen smells easily spread around the house and do not disappear for a long time;
there is an increase in the house;
the windows began to fog up, although this had not been observed before;
foci of fungus and mold appeared, which indicates high humidity air in the house, stagnant due to lack of ventilation.

If there is any doubt that this is caused by clogged ventilation, then you can check its performance.

Verification is carried out in one of the following ways:

Bring a lighted match or lighter to the opening of the ventilation grill - if the flame is sucked into the channel or even goes out, then the ventilation is working properly, if the flame column remains straight, then it is clogged.
Hold a small piece of paper near the ventilation grille. If it sticks to it, then the traction is excellent, if it falls, there is no traction.

The first method can be dangerous if a lot of cobwebs have accumulated in the ventilation duct. It can catch fire, which will lead. Therefore, it is better to use the second method.

If it is found that the draft is weak or not at all, it is necessary to clean the ventilation.

Nowadays, among the services provided by specialized companies, there is also a ventilation cleaning service. But if you don't feel like paying and you think you can do a great job on your own, you can take matters into your own hands.

So, there are two scenarios:

involvement of third-party specialists;
performance of work.

We clean the channel ourselves

If you live in a high-rise building, then your vent goes into a common ventilation shaft, which rises through all floors to the roof.

Unfortunately, only in rare cases in this mine there is a separate channel for each apartment. Most often, this is one common channel passing through all the apartments located one above the other. It is for this reason that when the draft is broken, you can smell the smells spreading from the neighbors.

In order to clean the channel yourself, you need to take the following steps:

Free up space under the ventilation duct from the stove and kitchen furniture. Place old newspapers on the floor, as dirt can fall on their channels.
Place a stool or stepladder against the wall.
under the channel cover with newspapers - wallpaper, paint or tile can be contaminated with crumbling deposits from the walls of the channel.
Remove the ventilation grille, wash it with soap or powder. If it is old and yellowed, it is worth replacing it with a new one of a suitable size.
Wear thick gloves on your hands and carefully remove all debris and dirt from the canal. Be careful, as there may be sharp stones or pieces of mortar, nails, glass and other unpleasant debris up to dead mice and insects.
If it is not a pity to clog the vacuum cleaner, then the remnants of small debris can be removed with it.
Reinstall the ventilation grill and check the draft in the way you already know.

If there is still no draft, then the channel is clogged higher. This is a problem, since you cannot get to the blockage. There is only one way out - to involve the management company, since you are probably not alone on this riser suffering without ventilation.

If you live in a private house and you have an extensive ventilation system, then you will not be able to clean it yourself. More precisely, it will succeed, but only with the use of special mechanized equipment, which you probably do not have.

In addition, you hardly know how to use it.

In order to clean your ventilation, specialists can use several methods.

These are methods such as:

mechanical - a vacuum and a brush machine are used (cleaning is fast, but does not effectively remove greasy layers);
chemical - by spraying special ones inside the duct (it is necessary to completely seal it, because chemistry is toxic);
combined - combines the previous two methods, which are used alternately (the method is expensive, but effective)
blasting - it consists in spraying particles of soda or dry ice inside the duct using compressed air (it also requires complete sealing of the system and quite a lot of time, but is very effective).

Applied equipment and materials

When cleaning the ventilation yourself, you will completely manage with such things as a vacuum cleaner, a small spatula for removing garbage, a brush with a long handle.

For mechanized cleaning, you may need:

brush machine;
blaster for soda or dry ice;
special chemicals;
vacuum cleaner.

Necessary for cleaning ventilation mechanically. This is a mobile device of small size, equipped with brushes to remove dirt from the walls of the channels. Basically it only deals with dust.

Blaster

Installation equipped with a sprayer and designed to supply under high pressure soda and dry ice. The cleaning process is somewhat similar to cleaning surfaces with sandblasting.

A device attached to the outlet of the channel and designed to absorb dirt and dust separated from the surface of its walls during operation. The vacuum cleaner can remove not only mechanical impurities, but also chemicals used in the process.

Sprayers and chemicals

Necessary to accelerate the peeling off of grease and dirt that has grown on the walls of the ventilation ducts. In the case of a complex system, other tools may be needed. Therefore, usually the company always conducts a preliminary analysis of the field of activity.

Attention: the equipment and all necessary reagents are always provided by the company - the manufacturer of the work and are included in the cost of cleaning the system. If you are offered to pay extra for something, do not agree and call the company's dispatcher.

Since ventilation draws air from the house along with dust, bacteria, fungus and mold spores, it is advisable to disinfect it after mechanical cleaning of the air duct. This is especially important for families with allergies.

Disinfection is also required to be carried out in the ventilation ducts of such premises as:

kitchens;
pools;
warehouses;
hospitals.

It is almost impossible and even dangerous for those living in the house to carry out disinfection on their own, so it is imperative to involve specialists for this. They will competently disinfect and make sure that everything chemical substances have been removed from channels.

Before starting work, serious companies flush the walls of the air ducts in order to accurately determine the composition of the microflora and apply the most effective means.

Thus, if cleaning the ventilation in an apartment or house can still be done independently, then disinfection is the lot of specialists.

If ventilation works well, we forget about its existence. We begin to be interested in how to clean the ventilation in the apartment when mold appears on the walls and the smell of dampness appears in the bathroom, the laundry dries for a long time, the windows fog up and you can determine by the smell what the neighbors are preparing for dinner. After all, an indispensable condition for a person's well-being is a constant supply of fresh clean air, and a violation of ventilation in an apartment leads to a decrease in efficiency, fatigue, the development of allergies, asthma and other chronic diseases.

Unfortunately effective complex installations forced ventilation still remain the prerogative of modern residential complexes recent years the buildings. The vast majority of apartment buildings, both old "Khrushchev" and later nine-sixteen-story buildings, are equipped with ventilation systems with a natural impulse. This is the cheapest, well-known scheme to everyone, when ventilation ducts from each apartment are connected to a common vertical riser duct. There can be several reasons why the ventilation in the apartment, designed for natural air exchange due to "leaks" and cracks in windows and doors, does not work:

Replacing old windows with modern double-glazed windows. For the "hood" to work with a natural impulse, a constant flow of air from the street is required, which was provided by the cracks of the old window. Hermetic heat-saving double-glazed window blocks the natural inflow of air, the humidity of the air rises, the windows constantly fog up, mold and the smell of dampness appear in the apartment. The room has to be constantly ventilated, as a result, the energy-saving function of plastic windows is not ensured and measures are required to improve ventilation.
The ventilation duct was clogged, blocked during the redevelopment of another apartment in the entrance, or air was removed from a very powerful kitchen hood. Natural ventilation of apartment buildings is calculated for air consumption of no more than 90 cubic meters. m / h and when connected to it only one kitchen hood that creates an air flow with a capacity of more than 1000 cubic meters. m / h, the ventilation systems of neighboring apartments will inevitably suffer. If the ventilation stack is clogged, it will need to be professionally cleaned, and in the second case - complete renovation ventilation in the apartment due to the neighbor who created the problem.
In winter, the hood works well, and poor ventilation in the apartment is observed only in summer heat. Basic condition effective work ventilation with a natural impulse is the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors.

In summer, this difference is insignificant and the old norms of SNiP assumed that in summer the residents would ventilate the premises by opening the windows. Regular cleaning of the ventilation in the apartment can normalize the situation a little, but only the installation of a forced system will completely solve the problem.

Checking the operation of the ventilation duct

Knowing how to check the ventilation in an apartment with the help of improvised means, you can quickly determine the degree of its performance and take measures to improve its efficiency.

So, to check the draft in the ventilation duct, you need to open a window in any room and bring the flame of a lighter or candle to the vent in the kitchen or bathroom. If the ventilation works well, it will pull the flame towards the channel. True, representatives of gas services do not recommend using this method in houses with main gas supply because of its fire hazard in the event of a gas leak in any entrance apartment.

There is also a second safe way. With the window open, you can bring a sheet of writing paper to the ventilation grill, but better than tissue paper or thin toilet paper. good traction should pull the paper to the grate, that is, the ventilation works fine.

In hot weather, the air is too "heavy" and the effectiveness of natural ventilation cannot be checked by these methods. If, when checking in cool weather, the flame of the lighter remained motionless, and the paper sheet did not stick to the grate, the ventilation must be cleaned.

How to clean the ventilation yourself with improvised means

One of the most common reasons why the ventilation in an apartment does not work well can be the usual blockage: fat deposits, dust, dirt, small debris that have been accumulating in the ventilation ducts for years.

According to the rules for the operation of multi-apartment residential buildings, access for residents to public utility systems is prohibited. Therefore, cleaning the ventilation in the apartment, as part of an apartment building, is a function professional services who are licensed to perform such work and are well acquainted with the ventilation system in a particular house.

On the other hand, each owner of an apartment must maintain in order all the engineering systems and know how to clean the ventilation in the apartment, or rather, perform preventive cleaning of the ventilation duct that goes from the apartment to the common riser.

To do this, carefully remove the ventilation grill and wash off grease, dust and dirt from it. You can use neutral detergents. Dirt and grease from the channel walls adjacent to the hole must be scraped off with a scraper, and then, inserting a vacuum cleaner hose into the ventilation hole, vacuum it well for 4-5 minutes, moving up and down the channel. After completing dry cleaning, wipe the accessible area of the ventilation duct with a slightly damp cloth and close the hole with a grate.

Important! When cleaning the ventilation duct yourself, it is strictly forbidden to lower bulky objects into it on a rope or use aggressive products to dissolve stubborn dirt. chemical reagents and solvents. Only the use of dry ice is permissible, which perfectly dissolves fatty deposits and evaporates without leaving a smell.

An overview of ways to improve ventilation

Simple mechanical cleaning of ventilation ducts, apartment and main, especially in houses old building not always able to improve the efficiency of the ventilation system. A few recommendations on how to improve ventilation in the apartment will help you choose the best budget option, thanks to which your home will be filled with clean fresh air and life in it will become pleasant and comfortable.

When replacing old windows with double-glazed windows, choose models with a micro-ventilation function. If problems with the operation of ventilation arose after the installation of plastic windows, they can be installed special devices, which will restore the natural flow of air from the street: ventilators or fittings that close the window without wringing and imitate the functions of cracks and leaks of old wooden windows. This inexpensive upgrade will save you from high humidity and the smell of dampness, but will not solve the problem of cleaning polluted street air.

To improve the ventilation of individual rooms, kitchens, toilets, bathrooms, you can install a supply and exhaust fan. These devices are quite efficient, designed to work in conditions of high humidity and are available in window, ceiling or wall versions.

An integrated supply and exhaust ventilation system is capable of providing a high-quality atmosphere in a room for any purpose, but this is an expensive project that requires a complete renovation of an apartment in an old building. Apartments in modern new houses are already equipped with such a ventilation system.

Even in an apartment with efficient supply and exhaust ventilation you should not give up the advantages of natural ventilation, proven over the centuries, especially if the house is located in a green area. For example, a fireplace that ventilates the room well and dehumidifies the air is an excellent example of a natural ventilation and air conditioning device, especially in winter.

The need for such manipulation as cleaning the ventilation in an apartment may arise for every resident high-rise building. Clogging of ventilation shafts leads to a violation of air circulation, and, therefore, to an increase in humidity in the premises, stagnation of odors in the bathroom and their distribution throughout the apartment.

Checking the ventilation in the apartment

If you notice that the microclimate in the apartment has changed dramatically, condensation has begun to appear on the windows, and the walls have become damp in some places, then it may be a faulty one. You can check the correctness of its work yourself.

Before you check the ventilation in the apartment, you need to know how this is done. Some not very knowledgeable people are advised to take a lighter or a candle, light it and bring it to the opening of the mine. If the flame deviates towards the grate, then the problem is not in ventilation - it works without disturbance. However, specialists of gas services categorically do not recommend using this method of verification, since an explosion may occur in the event of a gas leak. Yes, and deposits on the walls of the mine, as a rule, are very, very combustible.

The most reliable and completely safe way to check ventilation shaft: with the window open, bring a small piece of thin (you can toilet) paper to the grate and evaluate its “behavior”. If he is attracted to it, then it is worth looking for the cause of the bad microclimate in something else, and if not, then the mine needs to be cleaned.

Such actions in the hot season will not give an idea about the operation of the ventilation shaft, since heavy and dense air can stagnate in it for objective reasons.

How to clean the channels without the help of a master?

Of course, it is impossible to eliminate a large blockage in the ventilation shaft on your own, and safety standards prohibit such amateur performance. However, the residents of the apartment can independently clean the grate that closes the entrance to the ventilation shaft with the help of soft detergents. So how to clean the ventilation in the apartment without the help of a master? The walls of the accessible section of the shaft can be cleaned with a scraper and then vacuumed. After that, they are wiped with a damp cloth and the grate is returned to its place.

Trying to return to normal functioning, you should not try to clean it in the manner by lowering special brushes there. In addition, it is strictly forbidden to use for cleaning the ventilation shaft:

Aggressive detergents;
acids;
solvents.

Poor ventilation in the apartment - what is the reason and how to fix it?

Sometimes the interference of neighbors can be the cause of incorrect ventilation. Some negligent apartment owners block the ventilation shaft during repairs, making it impossible to work. Not in the best way her work is also affected by a powerful hood installed by someone, which, figuratively speaking, will pull the blanket over itself. In this case normal work ventilation system must be restored at the expense of the tenant who allowed such arbitrariness.

Another very common cause of ventilation problems is modern plastic windows. The fact is that the system of ventilation shafts in most houses built more than a dozen years ago is designed for natural motivation. In other words, the flow of air from the street, even with the windows closed, had to be provided due to the inevitable gaps in wooden frames. The design of plastic windows does not imply the presence of such "moves" and the operation of the ventilation system is disrupted. Installing windows with a built-in micro-ventilation system will help solve this problem.

Installing a forced system is another good decision Problems. The device is a kind of fan and is built into the opening of the ventilation shaft instead of a grill. As a rule, this device is connected to a light source, and it turns on when a button on the switch is pressed.