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I'm living in an apt that was renovated about a year ago and build in the 1930s. there's brick behind my stove. red sand/dust collects from what appears to be (and for lack of a better name) rotting brick. when i turn on the vent some of the red dust COMES OUT. This would be disastrous if you turned it on during a meal.
has anyone seen something like this before? what causes it and what can be done?
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Is it veneer brick? Basically thin brick "glued" to drywall. Since you live in an Apartment you can't do much without the landlord being involved.
For "Mexican Clay Tile" used for floors they have sealers to give them a gloss finish and water repellant qualities.
I would check with a local tile store and they will know. Maybe a photo and then discuss with the landlord so that you are covered in the future.
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A photo of the setup would help a lot.
Lacking that, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that the apartment may have originally had a coal or wood stove where the modern stove is now and whoever did the renovation decided to use the original stove's chimney as an outlet for the range hood exhaust fan. While that's not a problem in and of itself, it can quickly become one if the chimney is crumbling or becomes blocked by bird's nests, in which case the exhaust fan would blow detritus back into the kitchen.
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Matt,
Who wants that kind of issue impacting your kitchen? Talk about gross. Since you're in a rental, you need to take it up with your landlord and make him/her determine the source of the problem and have it repaired correctly.
Robert
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>>Since you're in a rental, you need to take it up with your landlord and make him/her determine the source of the problem and have it repaired correctly.
Ultimately, yes. but it can be hard to get her attention.
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Matt,
Since I live in a building that was built in the same general time frame, an issue you need to be concerned about is asbestos. It was in common use when buildings like yours and mine were built. It could be dust from bricks. It could be a mixture of different stuff. You've no idea what is in that dust.So, definitely take this issue very seriously. The fact that it gets blown into the kitchen when you turn on the vent makes it all the more troubling. It may literally be floating in the air whether the vent is off or on. Either way, this is a repair that you need to take up with your landlord and definitely do what it takes to get his/her attention.
Robert
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Wow. Shoddy work !
For your personal protection, I would immediately seal up the vent with aluminum foil and some sort of rugged tape. And of course take a sample of the dust in a baggie for yon LandLaird.
I do agree that the 'vent to old chimney' is the most plausible story, and chimney brick dust is a plausible possibility. Asbestos is less likely... brick was always a cheaper refractory coating for chimneys than asbestos in residential construction. There is a high probability of a lot of combustion products, mold, avian feces, etc...
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Cbelt,
He's in an old, pre-war building. It may not be shoddy work. Just age. That and I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss asbestos or other potentially dangerous materials. For example, asbestos is common in pre-ware buildings. I know from experience. That and the vent may not have been a chimney.
Although possibly a vent, Likely, it could be a slew of other things, i.e. dumbwaiter, trash chute. You name it. My building had both dumbwaiters and trash chutes. No vents that are immediately accessible from the inside of the apartments, though.
My concern is what is in the dust and that it could be floating in the air and possibly pose a health risk. He definitely needs to contact his landlord about this one way or the other. And, he should do it quickly, regardless of the difficulty.
Robert
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One other question, and I probably should have asked this one first- Is the range hood (supposed to be) vented outside, or is it one of the ones that filters the air and blows it back in your face? Earlier I assumed it was the former type but I wanted to be sure.
