There are few things that deal more damage to a rental home’s interior than cigarette smoke. This explains why smoking is usually prohibited inside or anywhere on the property of rental homes. A lot of Marietta property owners make sure of this by including a clause in their lease documents that specify the ban on smoking.
The question then becomes: What about vaping? In the past few years, there has been a sharp increase of people that use e-cigarettes as a substitute for smoking tobacco. Many people see vaping as this safe recreational activity. Some even look at it as a means to quit smoking since vaping is generally considered to be less harmful to one’s health.
Despite the reputation it has gained, vaping still has its share of danger when it comes to one’s health. There are clouds of vapor that come from the use of vaping devices such as e-cigarettes. These leave a filmy residue on anything they touch, from walls to floors to furniture. Consider this: anywhere that air can reach, vapor can, too. Every open space inside the home is a place it can reach. This could cause problems inside air vents and ductwork because, in these places, problems could go undetected for months or even years.
The reason that vapor leads to trouble is that it isn’t water, but glycerin. It may resemble water since it’s clear, but it does not simply evaporate into the air. In fact, it is a little oily. The emissions from an e-cigarette are more similar to aerosol gas than water vapor. It consists of particles that are formed out of chemicals, flavoring, and preservatives. When these particles touch any surface, they attach themselves to it. Over time, these particles accumulate and create a thick film that is difficult— and expensive— to clean up.
When the film gets on hard surfaces like mirrors or windows, they can be wiped down relatively easily. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with other areas like carpets, painted surfaces, and ductwork. Getting rid of the filmy residue that vaping leaves on surfaces like these are both time-consuming and costly and may harm some items permanently.
For example, the particles of vapor aren’t water soluble. That means fabrics and carpets may need to be professionally cleaned multiple times a year. Painted walls would be another challenge. These walls are porous because of the paint, and that means there are a lot of tiny little holes that vapor particles can get into. Textured walls are worse. The more textured your walls are the faster the sticky film sticks to it. To get rid of the film, you would need to scrub it frequently, but doing that also damages the paint.
With so much risk of damage to your Marietta rental home’s interiors, it just makes good sense to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes along with other forms of smoking. At Real Property Management East Cobb, we do regular property evaluations to check for indications of vaping inside your rental homes. Our expert property managers keep a close eye on your properties, ensuring better lease compliance and protecting the value of your investment. To learn more, contact us online or call us at 770-622-5657.
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.
