Why is my garbage chute so dang windy?

Asked by Seelix (14957

) May 10th, 2011

I live in a 21-floor building, on the 17th floor. Every time I go to use the garbage chute, there’s a definite draft blowing at me. So much that if I’ve emptied the ashtrays or vacuum, dust blows back at me.

What’s up with that? Is it a garbage chute thing, or just my building?

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2 Answers

The air pressures in your building are not being properly balanced, so that the pressure inside the building is lower than the outside pressures. Usually there are ventilation systems in large buildings like yours to prevent this. Here’s a very technical but very thorough explanation.

thorninmud (20495

)“Great Answer” (6

) Flag as…

Huh. Thanks, @thorninmud. I figured it had something to do with air pressure/temperature, but I didn’t know that such a strong wind could be caused that way. At least now I know it’s not a portal to another dimension.

Seelix (14957

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