ᐅ How can electrical outlets be sealed airtight?

Hi

We recently had a condominium extensively renovated. After moving in, we noticed that one room (a children’s room) is developing strange odors. It smells like something from the kitchen or sometimes musty.

Context:
- 3rd floor apartment building
- There is a pizza service on the ground floor

A neighbor has a similar issue and wrote the following but has not received a response:

“As you may recall, the local building authority no longer considers itself responsible for investigating the issue of unsealed cable ducts beneath the pizza delivery area and has referred it to the property management.
This sealing was omitted back then (around 2005/2006) because the suspended ceiling and a ventilation unit were already installed.
During a previous inspection by the responsible chimney sweep, this fact was confirmed through measurements.
We notice this every day through the varying degrees of odor nuisance in our living spaces.
Additionally, there is a real risk that in the event of a fire, toxic (potentially fatal) smoke gases could enter the apartments on floors 1 to 3 (possibly also the 4th floor on the right side).”

Furthermore, I believe that odors from our own kitchen are entering the children’s room through the extractor hood via the electrical outlet and cable duct.

Questions:
What steps should I take? How can electrical outlets be sealed airtight? What types of tradespeople are suitable for this work? How can I properly seal our apartment? What is the most effective and cost-efficient approach?

Alex_mucll schrieb:

How should I proceed? How can electrical outlets be sealed airtight? What type of tradespeople are suitable for this? How can I sufficiently seal our apartment? What is the best and most cost-effective approach?

Perhaps first check whether and how "chases" and "conduits" might be the cause. What kind of house is it? Older or newer? Solid masonry or timber frame? Where do the cable channels run?

In classical, somewhat older solid masonry construction, electrical conduits were usually not installed; instead, cables were simply laid inside the wall and then plastered over. You could try removing an outlet to take a look (caution: turn off the circuit breaker). This way, you can proceed step by step.

Solid multi-family house. Built around 1980. Removing the electrical outlet is already a good first step, thank you ;-)))

Alex_mucll schrieb:

Solid multi-family house. Built around 1980.
Removing the socket is already a good first step, thanks ;-)))

Given the year of construction, I assume it is NOT the socket, as it is very likely that no conduit was used.

nordanney schrieb:

Given the year of construction, I assume the issue is NOT the electrical outlet, since it is very unlikely that empty conduits were used.

nordanney, then where could the kitchen odors be coming from? None of the other rooms are affected. The window is also very tight (second highest sound insulation).

Alex_mucll schrieb:

Where could kitchen odors be coming from then?

No idea. Maybe from the materials used during the renovation.