B Traven said:

I dunno. With all due respect, it seems possible to me that you're just being a little paranoid.

Yeah, my dehydrator gets pretty stinky when running fully loaded. Wife always complained about it before we got a place with a basement. The kitchen and dining room sit right at the top of the basement stairs, with the dehydrator right there at the bottom. It's only really noticeable in the first few hours (as Rev mentioned), and even then only when you're actually in the basement.

To answer your question about where the smell goes with my own half-assed speculation based on experience:
I don't think it goes anywhere. I think the compounds creating the odor just sort of get blown out of the dehydrator, and then fairly quickly oxidize and dry out. You mentioned the bathroom making things worse on account of the humid air, so that kinda tracks with what I'm thinking. Unlike smoke of any kind, or many cooking odors, there doesn't appear to be any residual odor once the fruits are dried down and the unit is turned off. I think the compounds we're smelling are just super volatile.

What kind of a building do you live in? I'm struggling to imagine a place that's so flimsily constructed that what amounts to an intense cooking smell permeates throughout, but where there aren't then also all sorts of other off smells in the mix (mildew, trash, pets, etc.).

Anyway, the only actual suggestion I havw is to shred your fruits and not pack them in too tightly, so that they get past that initial stinky phase more quickly.

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I also thought for some time no chance it's me but, when I thought again, it's ground floor, next to elevator, windows often left open, door often crack open because of a cat, and landlord hinted something also... I thought, maybe it is noticeable and I just got used to it? You know when you enter somebody's place and you know instantly if there is a smoker there?
When dehydrator(s) left in the bathroom (no windows) then apartment stinks noticeably for some time when you enter, like humidity changes the smell a bit.

chowyunfat said:

I also thought for some time no chance it's me but, when I thought again, it's ground floor, next to elevator, windows often left open, door often crack open because of a cat, and landlord hinted something also... I thought, maybe it is noticeable and I just got used to it? You know when you enter somebody's place and you know instantly if there is a smoker there?
When dehydrator(s) left in the bathroom (no windows) then apartment stinks noticeably for some time when you enter, like humidity changes the smell a bit.

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