Indoor Air Quality is affected by the indoor air pollutants common in your home, including mold and mildew from water-damaged bathrooms and basements, dander from pets, and infiltration of outdoor traffic pollution. But the kitchen can be the most contaminated room in many homes—the main culprit – is pollutants emitted on the kitchen range.
Gas stove air pollutants are linked to various dangerous health outcomes, such as childhood asthma. For example, a 2023 study concluded that 12.7 % of childhood asthma in the US was due to gas stove use.
Acute or long-term exposures to nitrogen dioxides and carbon monoxide are strongly connected to numerous health conditions, including:
· Coughing and wheezing
· Lung irritation
· Reduced lunch function.
· Breathing difficulties
· Bronchial pneumonia
· Asthma
· High blood pressure
· Heart disease
· Cancer
If you must use a gas range, it should be used with kitchen range hoods that exhaust to the outside. Even modest improvements in levels of indoor pollutants help significantly. In conjunction or as a stand-alone, you may also use an air purifier with an optional gas and odor filter to help control kitchen air pollutants. It must filter ultrafine particles and gases, such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds(VOCs).
To best enjoy cooking and dining in the kitchen, control kitchen air pollution by venting or filtering as suggested or switching from gas-burning stoves to electric ones.