Dog smell passing through HVAC to second unit.

Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 5 votes

Hello, I’m looking for ideas to deal with a bad smell coming from my upper unit in a duplex to the lower unit.

When I purchased the house I did a full rehab and converted the unfinished basement into a two bedroom. The upper unit is 4 bedrooms. There is one HVAC and the intake Is upstairs.

The tenants in the upper apartment own two dogs. The rent is $2600 and the mortgage is $1650 so i don’t want to evict or be difficult. The lower apartment will rent for $1500.

The problem is the dog smell coming through the vents and making the lower apartment difficult to rent. I have considered closing the vents and installing mini splits, but I would prefer keeping the costs lower. Do you know a way I can deal with the smell?

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David Krulac

Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

10mo

Duct cleaning with deodorizing. But the real solution is separate heat paid for by the tenants, such their is no duct sharing between units. If there is dog odor, there probably is dog hair in the ducts.

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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10mo
Duct cleaning with deodorizing. But the real solution is separate heat paid for by the tenants, such their is no duct sharing between units. If there is dog odor, there probably is dog hair in the ducts.
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- Ty Cover
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  Member since 2020 · 14 posts · 5 votes
  10mo
  Quote from @David Krulac:
  
  Duct cleaning with deodorizing. But the real solution is separate heat paid for by the tenants, such their is no duct sharing between units. If there is dog odor, there probably is dog hair in the ducts.
  
  thanks for the help.
  
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Alan F.
Flipper/Rehabber · CA · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10mo
Quote from @Ty Cover:

Hello, I’m looking for ideas to deal with a bad smell coming from my upper unit in a duplex to the lower unit.
When I purchased the house I did a full rehab and converted the unfinished basement into a two bedroom. The upper unit is 4 bedrooms. There is one HVAC and the intake Is upstairs.
The tenants in the upper apartment own two dogs. The rent is $2600 and the mortgage is $1650 so i don’t want to evict or be difficult. The lower apartment will rent for $1500.
The problem is the dog smell coming through the vents and making the lower apartment difficult to rent. I have considered closing the vents and installing mini splits, but I would prefer keeping the costs lower. Do you know a way I can deal with the smell?

Assuming this a a forced air unit (FAU) & the only return air is upstairs, there's no air exchange downstairs. How does that work? A single zoned system can't condition 2 envelopes lol. The static pressure across the coils is probably killing the unit, if you dampen the registers it will only raise the static pressure. I'd highly recommend a knowledgeable HVAC tech be consulted.
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Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
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Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
10mo
Quote from @Ty Cover:

Hello, I’m looking for ideas to deal with a bad smell coming from my upper unit in a duplex to the lower unit.
When I purchased the house I did a full rehab and converted the unfinished basement into a two bedroom. The upper unit is 4 bedrooms. There is one HVAC and the intake Is upstairs.
The tenants in the upper apartment own two dogs. The rent is $2600 and the mortgage is $1650 so i don’t want to evict or be difficult. The lower apartment will rent for $1500.
The problem is the dog smell coming through the vents and making the lower apartment difficult to rent. I have considered closing the vents and installing mini splits, but I would prefer keeping the costs lower. Do you know a way I can deal with the smell?

Use better filters with carbon prefilters on returns . (Filters should be MERV11-13 but are expensive)
Have you done a duct cleaning?
You could also add an ERV (but that gets pricey) to bring in outside air to that unit as well.
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