Cigarette smoke is one of the most damaging things to a rental home’s interior, which is why most Pinellas County property owners include a clause in their lease documents that stipulates a ban on smoking inside or anywhere on the rental home property.
Should vaping be prohibited as well? People have started using e-cigarettes as a substitute for smoking tobacco, and over the past few years, e-cigarette usage has sharply increased. Many people see vaping as a safe recreational activity. Some even see it as a means to quit smoking since vaping is generally considered to be less unhealthy.
Despite the hype, vaping is not as harmless as many people think it is. A filmy residue gets left behind by the clouds of vapor that comes from the use of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. This residue sticks to anything it touches, from walls to floors to furniture. Think about it: If air can get there, vapor can too. Air is everywhere inside your home, so there is no reason why vapor can’t reach it as well. This could cause problems inside air vents and ductwork, and in these places, problems could go undetected for months or even years.
The reason that vapor brings about so much trouble is that it isn’t water but glycerin. It may be clear, but it does not evaporate into the air. It is also slightly oily. The emissions from an e-cigarette are more like an aerosol gas than water vapor. It has particles that are formed out of chemicals, flavoring, and preservatives. These particles cling to any surface it comes in contact with. As these particles gather, they create a thick film that is difficult—and expensive—to remove.
While it is relatively easy to wipe the film off of hard surfaces like windows and mirrors, that is true for other surfaces such as carpets, painted surfaces, and ductwork. Removing the filmy residue that vaping leaves on surfaces like these is a waste of time and money, and it may even permanently damage some items.
For instance, you may have curtains, couches, and carpeted floors. When the particles of vapor get to these fabrics and carpets, you can’t just wash them off with water. You might end up having to get them professionally cleaned multiple times a year. Painted walls pose another challenge. Paint is porous and vapor particles could easily get into the pores and settle there. This problem increases with the texture of your walls. The more textured the walls are, the faster the sticky film builds up. You would need to frequently scrub the walls to get rid of the build-up. However, scrubbing could also damage the paint.
With so much risk of damage to your Pinellas County rental home’s interiors, it makes sense to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes along with other forms of smoking. At Real Property Management TradeWinds, we carry out frequent property assessments to check for signs of vaping inside your rental homes. We want to make sure the value of your investment is protected, so we ensure better lease compliance by having our expert property managers monitor your properties carefully. To learn more, contact us online or call us at 727-400-4722.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
