I have been researching extraction methods and from what I have been reading the extraction process can emit a chemical smell.

1. In your experiences how strong is the smell?

2. At what point during the process is the smell the strongest?

3. Can it be smelled outside a persons home?

4. What methods are effective is masking or reducing the smell during the extraction?

Thank You

Sorry if this has been discussed but I have not been able to find much information about this with my searches, and was slightly worried about my neighbors thinking that I may be making something else.

It would depend on which extraction process you are doing and what chemicals you are using. Don't quote me but I don't believe it could be smelled from outside of a house if you are using thicklight's tek. Will make your house smell like vinegar though.

there are teks out there that don't require really nasty smelling chems (but maybe a heavy orange aroma)

Thanks guys, I'll be using vinegar, lye, and naphtha. I would like to know people's experiences with these odors, whether it smelled outside their house, and what worked in masking or reducing the odors.

I have found that you can do STB extractions with almost no smell emitted (even inside a house). Acid boils will produce a vinegar-y smell if you use vinegar, but this may not necessarily be suspicious (and probably won't spread outside your house or stick around too long). You could try citric acid instead, it might smell less. You shouldn't have to evaporate any naphtha (only freeze precipitate), so there shouldn't be any smell from that either. Lye has no odor.

I would really only be concerned about odor if you are evaporating large amounts of solvent (which shouldn't be necessary). Naphtha has a gasoline-like smell and could attract unwanted attention. Xylene is even worse.

Vinegar has a pretty strong odor, as I'm sure you're aware, but it's not really a suspicious smell. My mother always used to use vinegar to clean. Even if it could be smelled outside of your house, I doubt anyone who smelled vinegar coming from inside would assume anything other than you're cooking something with a lot of vinegar in it or you're cleaning.

Naphtha hardly emits any smell unless you are evaporating a fair amount of it. It's still important to have proper ventilation, but I would be surprised if anyone could smell it outside of your house if you're planning on freeze precipitating. The amount of time that the naphtha is exposed to air and evaporating (when it would be emitting an odor) is pretty minimal.

And just for the record, yes. Xylene is overwhelmingly pungent, I would not recommend using xylene for anything if you are worried about smell.

what i did was to do the pulls in the kitchen, on the sideboard, with the window open and and a fan between extraction jar, with the naptha in, and an open window. worked for me and i'm very chemically sensitive. extraction jars were outside when not being pulled from though i don't think lye, in the stb jar, gives off much when cold and with a loose lid. a fan at high speed will greatly reduce the odour (spelt with a U ) concentration that is being sent outdoors. ive done one extraction, by the way ,so am not experienced..

if you used citric acid and vegetable oil as a solvent, there would be no real pungent odor at all...

just the smell of the basified plant, which isn't really strong.

and if you used limonene it would just reek of oranges, which ain't so bad.

Some problems have the most easy solutions.

It can be done with one of the most versatile tools: the clothespeg placed on the nose. If you worried about the neighbors, you can offer them a clothespeg as well.

Seriously, those solvents smell. You can't do a lot against it. You can choose to use d-limo, which makes your house smell like oranges but better do it in a shed or outside if you don't want your house to smell like a chemical factory.

Either go with a non-smelly solvent, or consider getting one of these Phresh Filters.

If you choose a smelly solvent (like naptha), it will permeate the house (definitely noticeable); most noticeable the entire time, and if you open the doors & windows, it can be smelled on the porch.

Thanks everyone for your tips and insights.