A story reported this weekend in the Leader-Telegram shows that communication is an essential part of resolving an ongoing issue with your apartment neighbor.
A tenant at an apartment building in Eu Claire, Wisconsin called the police to complain about late-night cigarette smoke from the downstairs apartment. He explained the problem has been going on for several years and that he has been dealing with it by stomping on the floor to let the neighbor know the smoke was just too much.
Apparently, the neighbor never got the message. When the police confronted the neighbor, she admitted hearing banging noises from the upstairs apartment -- but she never put it together that this was the tenant's way of telling her to stop smoking.
Although the downstairs neighbor may legally smoke while inside her apartment, there are steps the tenants and landlord may be able to take to remedy, or at least minimize, the problem. For example, the landlord could install high-quality filters or make adjustments to the ventilation system in the building.
But any type of resolution requires communication between neighbors. While it's common sense that stomping on the floor isn't as effective as talking with a neighbor about a problem, this story shows that the neighbor might not even realize what all the stomping is about anyway.
If one of your neighbors is doing something that's getting on your nerves, follow these tried-and-true tactics to deal with the situation effectively.
(Photo © B. Carp)
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