What if your kitchen doesn’t have a vented range hood, or doesn’t have a range hood at all? Again, one of the easiest ways to get fresh air into your kitchen is to open a window or a door to the outside while you cook. Based on their research, the study authors also recommend that if you have an air-circulating range hood, you can greatly improve your air quality by turning on another exhaust fan in your home-such as one in a bathroom-in addition to opening a few windows. If you’re especially concerned, a good rule of thumb is to cook over the back burners exclusively with the range hood on whenever possible. The study pointed out that the majority of range hoods were more effective at capturing emissions from the back burners than the front burners. (The best air-circulating version was able to reduce pollutants by only 50%.) When scientists at the University of California’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory studied the use of range hoods to mitigate indoor air quality problems in 2017, they found that the good ones really do work: Those that vent to the outdoors (and have appropriate CFM and coverage) can reduce pollutant concentrations in the air by 80% to 95%. Range hoods also differ in power (usually rated in CFM, or cubic feet per minute) and size, which translates to how well the system works to cover all the heating elements on your stovetop. Others recirculate air through a filter, which may dilute pollutants immediately in front of the stove, he says, but won’t remove them from the rest of your home. Some hoods vent to the outdoors, which is ideal, says Rob Jackson, a professor at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability who studies gas stoves and indoor air quality. Range hoods vary widely in effectiveness, so get familiar with what kind you have, especially if your home or kitchen is on the smaller side. We’re just lucky that action also tends to move smells, heat, and tiny steam-borne grease particles out of the kitchen too. A good range hood sucks up and removes steam and harmful pollutants as you cook, she says. You should flip on your range hood every time you cook or bake, not just when you’re deep-frying fish, say, or charring the heck out of a steak.Ī range hood is there for ventilation, not odors, notes Jessica Petrino Ball, who runs the education programs at the kitchen appliance retailer AJ Madison. Recent studies about cooking and indoor air quality show that when it comes to range hoods, people are not using them enough. Turn on your range hood every single time you cook The good news is, you can mitigate risks right now-even if your household includes kids with asthma-by getting more fresh air into your kitchen while you cook. The Department of Energy is in the process of proposing stronger efficiency regulations for new gas stoves that would also effectively reduce their emissions. In January 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission made it clear that while the agency isn’t looking to ban gas stoves, it is actively researching performance tests for measuring emissions, safety standards, and other solutions for reducing the potential hazards. New studies have also linked gas stoves to increased rates of childhood asthma, and shown that using a gas stove can produce elevated levels of benzene on par with those from second-hand tobacco smoke. Worried that using your gas stove is negatively affecting your health? Though experts and pundits continue to debate the fine points, gas stoves have long been shown to release potentially harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide, a respiratory irritant.
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