How to Decrease Indoor Air Pollution from Cooking
Virtually every home has issues with poor indoor air quality as many cleaning products and even your home’s furnishings and building materials all give off pollutants. However, you may be surprised to learn that cooking is one of the biggest contributors to indoor air pollution in the average home. Today, we’re going to look at the reasons for this and what you can do to overcome this problem.
Gas vs. Electric Stoves
Gas stoves always give off much more pollution than cooking with an electric stove. No matter whether the home uses natural gas or propane, gas burners will always give off some carbon monoxide, methane, and other harmful combustion fumes. That being said, cooking on any type of stove will always release pollutants into the air. This is because many of your pots, pans, and utensils give off pollutants whenever they’re heated up. Heating oil or other fats also produces some airborne pollutants, especially if they get too hot, and pollution is also released any time you accidentally burn any food.
How to Decrease Air Pollution Caused by Cooking
The best way to prevent cooking from worsening your home’s air quality is to make sure you always run the exhaust fan in your kitchen every time you use your stove or oven. Using an exhaust fan is especially important when cooking on a gas stove, but it is still always a good idea with electric stoves as well.
If indoor air quality is something you’re overly concerned about, we recommend having a whole-home air purification or air filtration system installed. These systems work in tandem with your HVAC system to clean and purify the air circulating through your ductwork. Depending on the specific type and model you choose, many of these systems will remove 95% or more of the airborne pollutants and contaminants in your home. This means that they will not only help to prevent air quality issues caused by cooking but also work to tackle all of the other sources of air pollution in your home.
At Butler Heating & Air Conditioning, we specialize in indoor air quality services and can help with ventilation, air purification, and humidity control. We can also assist if you need any other heating, cooling, or plumbing service in the Dayton area. For more information on our indoor air quality services, give us a call today.
