A step-by-step approach to complaints
Gather details
Ask when, where and how strong the smell is, and whether it changes with windows or the air system.
Visit the unit
Smell the space on arrival before anything is moved or cleaned.
Test the air
Close windows and doors and check whether the smell persists.
Inspect common sources
Look at drains, filter, trash, closets and flooring.
Record and recheck
Write the findings in the file and recheck on a later day.
Highway air and building age
Areas near interstate interchanges mix newer and older residential communities with the heavy traffic that comes with a major route. Residents near a highway may notice exhaust or other outdoor smells, particularly with windows open or when wind carries them toward a building. Whether that happens at a given building is something staff can only learn from observation.
A useful approach is to treat outdoor air as one hypothesis among several. Test it, and if the smell disappears with windows closed, note that in the file and offer practical suggestions. If it does not, then turn to the usual indoor suspects without delay.
Building age matters here as it does elsewhere. Older buildings may have original air handlers and drain lines, and newer ones may have tight envelopes. Neither is automatically better or worse for odor, but each suggests different first checks.
As with all area pages on this site, these remarks are general. No claim is made about specific communities or conditions.
Likely first checks by building age
- Building age
- Older
- First checks
- Air handler pan, drain line, carpet and cushion
- Reason
- Aging parts and long tenancies
- Building age
- Mid-aged
- First checks
- Filters, exhaust fans, shared trash areas
- Reason
- Mix of original and updated systems
- Building age
- Newer
- First checks
- Ventilation, new materials, vacant-unit airing
- Reason
- Tighter construction holds smells
Common questions
Is highway air a known cause here?
This page does not claim so. It treats outdoor air as a possibility to test, like any other.
What if highway air is mentioned by several residents?
Log each mention with date and conditions, test with windows closed, and review the log after a few weeks. Patterns will be clearer than any single impression.
How long should a recheck wait?
A day or more after the work, and at a different hour from the first check. A second look in a different light and temperature is more honest.
General information for Centennial, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.