Plants can often smell quite strong, and grow room odor can be a problem, and not just for your own home. Sometimes, odor can become strong enough to bother your neighbors, especially if you’re living in close proximity to others. Luckily, there are many ways of removing odors with a little vigilance.
Some smell is inevitable, especially if you’re growing plants known for being particularly pungent. However, there are ways to keep smells at manageable levels. Plus, many ways of control odor have secondary benefits for your plants.
No matter what types of plants you’re growing, some grow room odor will be present. However, a multi-tiered approach that combines various best practices for everything from circulation to humidity control can dramatically reduce unwanted smells.
Maintain Proper Air Circulation
Odor problems are often related to air circulation problems, and poor circulation can be bad for your plants’ overall health. When air is not moving through your garden, odor can build up and temperatures can also skyrocket. Maintaining better circulation can help solve both these problems.
Fans are usually the cheapest, easiest option. A combination of standing fans, oscillating fans, and duct fans works best. When combined, these types of fans can move air through your garden swiftly, removing unwanted odors in the process. Installing fans is a simple, low-cost solution that can have dramatic results.
When choosing a fan, check the CFM rating. This measures how many cubic feet of air your fan is able to move in a minute. You’ll also need to know the cubic foot/meter measurement of your grow room so you can find a fan that gets adequate coverage.
Monitor Your Temperature and Humidity Levels
High temperature and humidity can be the culprit if you’re experiencing excessive grow room odor. While LED lights generally generate less heat than other options, all lights generate heat. When you’re growing in an enclosed space, lighting can cause fluctuations in temperature and humidity.
If either or both get too high, the results can not only cause odor but harm your plants’ overall health. That’s why it’s important to check your thermometer and hygrometer daily and act fast if your grow room starts getting too hot or too humid.
The best temperature and humidity levels vary by plant, so you’ll have to do some research to determine what’s best for your specific needs. However, here are some rough guidelines for the general ranges healthy for most plants:
- Seedlings:
- Humidity: 65-70%
- Temperature: 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit
- Vegetation:
- Humidity: 40-50%
- Temperature: 71 to 82 degrees Fa
- Flowering Period:
- 40 to 50% humidity
- Temperature: 68 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit
Dehumidifiers and air conditioners may be necessary to keep conditions optimal, especially if you live in a warmer climate. Air circulation also helps maintain good humidity and temperature, so adopting the previously outlined changes can also help.
Install A Carbon Filter
A carbon filter is one of the absolutely best means to eliminate grow room odor. If it’s within your budget, it’s highly recommended. In fact, a quality carbon filter can reduce up to 90% of odors in your garden. Plus, they’re customizable to size and environmentally friendly.
Carbon filters remove contaminants from the air by emitting activated ionized carbon, eliminating everything from mold spores to dust to hair. It’s impossible to completely eradicate any scent – especially if you’re opting for stronger smelling plants – but a carbon filter can definitely help keep things under control.
Another big advantage of carbon filters is that they’re fairly easy to install, even for new growers. They tend to work best when placed at the highest part of your grow space, as this is where most air accumulates. Carbon filters can be used both for air that is recirculating within a grow room or air that is being vented to the outside.
Invest in Odor Absorbing Gels
These can be particularly important in the final six weeks of a plant’s life cycle, where smells become particularly potent. During this time, you may need to amplify odor control efforts in your growing space.
Odor absorbing gels, which can be purchased online and many gardening supply centers, work by attaching to odors and then replacing them with more pleasant scents. Odor absorbing gels, for example, may contain essential oils that can emit a strong smell.
The major downside to odor absorbing gels is that they do not eliminate odors like using a filter. They merely mask odors, so they should be used in conjunction with other methods as they may not be highly effective on their own. However, gels can be a great supplement to other methods at the end of the grow cycle especially.
The Bottom Line
Growing indoors will always result in some unwanted odor, but a combination of the above methods can help keep things at an acceptable level. In fact, many growers find they can eliminate nearly 100% of odor through ventilation, temperature and humidity control, and supplemental fixes like odor absorbing gels and carbon filters. Not only this, such measures can help maintain a good environment for your plants overall and help remove unwanted bacteria from the air.
Odor control is important. Odors associated with indoor growing can be bothersome to neighbors or other household members, so it’s important to be conscientious of this and take steps to keep smells under control. With a little vigilance, you can create a nearly odor-free environment that will help cultivate healthy plants.
