[Tess Flynn]

Tess Flynn  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Question for you!

Imagine you are cooking inside your apartment, when your meal-in-progress starts burning, fulling your apartment with smoke. You salvage what's left of your breakfast but now you have to deal with the smoke before the landlord starts pounding on your door (again). You fling open the balcony window to the icy morning and grab a box fan.

Which would be the fastest way to rid the apartment of smoke?
a. Put the box fan on the floor, blowing inside?
b. Put the box fan on the floor, blowing outside?
c. Hang the box fan from the ceiling, blowing outside?
d. Something else?

How would this differ in the summer when the outside air is hotter
than the inside?

Thanks,
/* Tess *

What do you think?

[SeanB]

Open another window to get a flow of air through the kitchen. Otherwise all you are doing is circulating the air.

[CZARCAR]

Open another window to get a flow of air through the kitchen. Otherwise all you are doing is circulating the air.

suck the smoke out, box fan in window ideally sealed for exhaustion + air inhaust sourcce from proper location,m,,,,,,,,

[Geezer]

d. Find another apartment.

[CliffordK]

I think the smoke rises.

From gradeschool...  I always remember hearing that one should crawl on the floor to escape being overcome by smoke in a fire.

So, with that in mind, it wouldn't hurt to locate your fan as high as possible.  But, as also mentioned, you will benefit from getting air circulation (open the door, or another window).

Keep in mind....  Don't blow air into an ACTIVE FIRE.  Get your fire put out before circulating air to feed the flames.

[imatfaal]

First thing is to turn off the bloody smoke alarm that is making such a piercing noise that you cannot think straight.  Hang On! You didn't mention a smoke alarm - so first thing is when the scumbag landlord bangs on the door ask him why no smoke alarm is fitted

[Don_1]

In the good old days, when people didn't have extractors or any of that flash high tech gear, when the toast got burnt, we would fling open the door and swirl a tea towel around.

As SeanB wrote, its advisable to open a second vent, so you can expel the smoke through one and draw in fresh air through the other. OK, so its cold outside, perhaps that'll teach you to pay attention when cooking.

I'll not be coming round to your gaff for breakfast if you cremate it rather than cook it.

[CZARCAR]

a smoke alarm located near the source of smoke might save the breakfast?

[jackylui]

Turn on air-condition ....

[jamessmmarshall]

First thing to do open all windows and doors of your apartment.Then start a fan or AC on full speed.It will makes circulation of air properly to your apartment.This will help you to clear smoke from a room in faster way.

[CZARCAR]

try waving/flapping a wetted towel thru the smoke

[wolfekeeper]

Of the options, c) is probably best.

Fans suck air in roughly equal directions from the side and rear, but blow a fairly well defined jet, so you want to suck the smokey air and send it directly out. You would also have to let fresh air in of course; you want to create a good circulation dragging good air in, and blowing smokey air out.

However, putting the fan just outside the appartment and blowing fresh air in at low level, and letting the smokey air out at high level should be about as good I would think.

a) would tend to recirculate the smoke, so isn't as good, and b) isn't as good because the smokey air is likely to be hotter, and will tend to rise, so you'll tend to blow the cleaner air out.

In summer if the outside air is a lot hotter, putting the fan on the ground inside will suck the colder, smokier air from the appartment, and take the smoke with it, and the hot, fresh air will rise to the ceiling, and will get faster clearance.