OMG!!! SERIOUS odor problem, but I have....

I am however vvvvvvvery interseted in OregonMeds comments of my postitive pressure in my grow room. Ive never heard of this before. I do have a hole in my grow room floor that extracts fresh air via 6" ducting into my room? But still, when I try to shut my door, the door does kind of resist me

I hate to suggest it, can fan running backwards? (Didn't want to say the other option of installed backwards)

OregonMeds, that is a good suggestion. But if its shooting air through the ducting up into the attict, that means the fan is working properly correct? Im not sure since this is my very first vent fan.

and on another note, the Ona gel/crystals no longer work. They only gave my attict about 4 hrs of smell relief

in the meantime until I can fiqure out the problem, are there certain flowers I can go buy today from some shop to put in my flower bed on my front porch? To maybe help with the skunk smell from my attict?

No there's nothing better than ona gel if it didn't do good enough nothing will. But technically you didn't read it's directions and may have wasted it now. Don't bother again unless it's in the room, and then you're supposed to poke hole(s) in the lid so it evaporates slowly.

If the exhaust blows out the vent the right way then that's not the problem.

Any you don't have an intake fan right? And you closed off the furnace ducting or replaced it or?

Can fans/filters can work as just in the room not exhausting outside, you could give that a shot temporarily just disconnecting it from the vent line, only circulating air inside the room through the filter. If the light needs to be off to test that, so be it, it will help finally figure it out hopefully.

Hey thanks again for all of your replys OMeds.

Any you don't have an intake fan right?

No, I did not install a fan for my intake. When I turn my fan one and shut my door, then it SUCKS up the fresh air. And you closed off the furnace ducting or replaced it or?

It did close that off before I started my grow. HOWEVER, it may be closed, but its not sealed. I didnt seal it because it doesnt exit into the attict. I did consider puting foil or duct tape over it, but I fiqure that when I turn the gas heater on in my house then some of that will leak through and burn the tape.

Can fans can work as just in the room not exhausting outside, give that a shot temporarily just disconnecting it from the vent line, only circulating air inside the room

You mean have ZERO exaust? Is that bad for the plants? Well, its better than getting busted

I apologize for the length of this post but it's hard to diagnose this long distance. I really feel for the stress you must be experiencing.

I would immediately disconnect the ducting to the attic and scrub the air in the room. It will tell you right away if your filter is working and will end the security problem while you troubleshoot. Even if your filter is only partially functioning it will eventually remove the odor as the air is repeatedly cycled through the filter. If you have to turn the lights off as already said, do so. A little stress to your plants is nothing compared to having them cut down. When we talk about security people assume we mean police, but you also need to worry about being robbed no matter how legal your grow may be.

My ozone suggestion was to remove smell from the insulation which you thought was a source. Ozone is ideal for removing organic based smell soaked into carpet or upholstery or anything, the problem is when you try to use it as a long term solution to grow odors. Ozone has a strong smell of it's own and is very well known as being associated with grows. It becomes a balance of getting enough ozone mixed with the air for a long enough period of time to remove the smell, while not pumping the smell of ozone into your yard. You can find a balance using a cycle timer, but then the odor level is constantly changing. These are the reasons growers welcomed the odor control ability of carbon filters and stopped using ozone so much. I guess I'm trying to say if your problem is coming from odor not coming from your attic you won't solve it with the ozone generator, and I'd hate to be responsible for you spending unnecessary money. If you were to purchase a second odor control device it would likely be wiser just to add another filter and fan in the room.

The single most important thing for a carbon filter to be effective is ALL air leaving the room must go through it. This means negative air pressure needs to be maintained 24/7, and you absolutely must be certain to confirm this is the case. Please do the smoke test around your door with the fan at the lowest setting to confirm the smoke is being sucked into the room through the cracks. Common sense tells us that it *should* be with that fan, but we can't be 100% sure until you witness it yourself.

The furnace has not been running at all if I understand you correctly? If it ever cycles on it will change that negative air pressure quite severely (the average furnace fan is more powerful than your exhaust fan) which could result in smelly air being pushed out your passive intake and every little crack in the room. If it has been coming on at all lately that could very well be your problem. You need to repeat the smoke test with the furnace fan running if it has been on at all during the period of your odor problem. It would also push the air out your exhaust fan and through the carbon at a faster rate.

Fire is not really a concern with closing off a vent, but I understand and respect your caution. Remember all those ducts are in full contact with wood and many ducts are just tin covering the wood floor joists. They are by no means airtight, so that air is already being blasted at wood in your house all the time. The air going through the ducts is not hot enough to start a fire with household building materials. Ducts are covered all the time by furniture and other household items as well. Your concern with using duct tape can be solved by using the foil duct tape that is designed for this purpose. Just don't block the vent by putting a jerry can of gasoline on it and it should be reasonably safe.

Choch, thank you VERY VERY VERY much for your replys. Ya man, Im seriously freaking out over here. Very scared.

Ok, you might be onto something with your latest reply.

* So, as far as the negative pressure goes, Im pretty sure Im good on that.
I just performed the smoke test from outside my grow room door, in the hallway. The fan was on in the grow room and at its lowest setting. The smoke did not suck into the room.
But no surprise there, I knew that would happen, because I have a SHITLOAD of whetherstripping AND a blanket type thing under the door. Nothing can get in or out of that door. BUT, the door does resist me a little when the fan is on, and also when the fan is on, its pulling air pretty hard from under the house throught 13 ft of 6" ducting. And I leave the fan on 24/7 . Oh and also from inside the room , when the door is all the way shut, i put my hand on the Can filter and I can actually feel it sucking air.

Now as far as the vent on my ceiling in my grow room for my heat/AC (furnace) that has been shut this whole time. However, I just sealed it with foil tape. So hopefully this will help and not catch fire

and now for my next part.........the reason i say fire is because since its been so friggin cold lately, i have been using the furnace ALOT!!!!!!!! Every morning and sometimes at night. But heres the thing, yesterday I was away from my house for 10 hrs and came back home to the horrible smell in my front yard and I didnt turn the heater on even once yesterday. And also today I only ran the furnace for one hour about 9 am this morning. Its 9pm right now and the smell is just as strong right now as ever.

I hope you or anyone else reading this has some more ideas/thoughts or maybe even have solved it.

And again, I really cant thank you enough, all of you that have replied

I don't understand how big expensive equipment isn't hiding the smell of 6 plants 2 weeks into flowering?
You must be doing something wrong buddy.

how old is the filter...sounds like you need new charcoal .....I have the same filter and run a 1040 cfm fan.... it has a 10 inch exhaust....been using the same filter for 3 yrs

Second stop venting into your attic...I work in dry ice mold removal from attics...your creating the perfect breeding ground for black mold

* I dont understand either buddy. This is my first grow. I bought big bad equiptment cuz I wanted to do this right the first time. I want only the best shit.
Am I doing something wrong? I sure hope so, and that way I can then fix it. I have been trying to fiqure this out since Sunday now.

* and the filter is only 60 days old. I bought it brand new from the grow shop. But maybe it was sitting there for a long time?

brett silva said:

* I dont understand either buddy. This is my first grow. I bought big bad equiptment cuz I wanted to do this right the first time. I want only the best shit.
Am I doing something wrong? I sure hope so, and that way I can then fix it. I have been trying to fiqure this out since Sunday now.

* and the filter is only 60 days old. I bought it brand new from the grow shop. But maybe it was sitting there for a long time?

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Gentlemen, I have cut off my exaust to my attict. And unfortuately that was the ONLY place I can exit. So I am running my fan and fiter in the grow room. How long can my girls last without an exaust?

Thanks again guys

As long as it's not too hot you can always grow that way, many do.

did it solve the smell though?

We are going to want to see pictures of you holding up a dead skunk here shortly.

Yes, I did help the smell BIG TIME. Although there still is 20-30% left up there. Maybe it just needs a couple of days to clear out.

and no, its not hot here at all. Its actually 23 degrees outside at times!
So the exaust just has to with temperature? I thought it had to clear the "bad air" out of the room? But just as long as it wont kill my girls then Im ok.
So I have a few months here to fiqure out my odor problem then.

Thanks again Omeds and Choch for your time and concern

Oh and yes OMeds, I will post a pic with the skunk shortly. I am pretty darn good with Photoshop. LOL!!!

captain insaneo said:

get some ona gel and look up rosemans smell bucket thingy
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/241418-rosemans-odor-bucket.html?highlight=roseman+odor+control

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I second this. It is a very effective way of removing odor.

No prob...

If you decide to grow sealed long term you'll want to add co2 and an air conditioner. You don't need either (seriously) but your grow will be limited by co2 now so you won't get the most you possibly can but they won't die either.

Actually a sealed grow room is always the best when you can swing it.

If the can filter isn't working, don't bother with the diy carbon filter projects. Besides, I haven't seen one worth a shit. Try turning down the fan, so Its not blowing as much air. If it doesn't have a volume control, put it on a dimmer switch. Once it's vented into attic, whatever odor is left should be diluted into the air.

Hey Brainwarp, youre saying that these VERY VERY VERY $$$ filters are crap? this is my very first one, and Im thinking that its probably the problem.

No he's saying building some little DIY thing would be crap compared to what you have. (provided they didn't rip you off and sell you a used filter as new)

you know what OMeds, they might of sold me a used filter. It was wrapped up in plastic and its label. And charged me $360 for it. However, that doesnt mean its not used ya know. Hmmm