Did you realize that cooking indoors might harm your health since it produces air pollution? Using an electric or gas stove produces particulate particles during cooking. Particulate matter is made up of tiny fragments of cooked food, fat, or oil that can fly into the air when food is fried, deep-fried, roasted, broiler, sautéed, baked, or burned. Carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide are two other contaminants that your gas stove may release as you cook. Nitrogen dioxide exposure raises the possibility of respiratory issues, while CO exposure causes flu-like symptoms, fatigue, and ultimately unconsciousness and death.
As the holidays get near, you might want to consider the following advice on how to enhance the quality of the air inside your home while cooking:
- The range hood exhaust fan needs to be turned on whenever you use your stovetop. When compared to slower speeds, running the exhaust at its highest setting during cooking can reduce exposure to contaminants related to cooking by more than 80%.
- If your range hood exhaust fan isn’t working, you can help purge the air in your house by opening a nearby window.
- Put CO detectors in your house to help guard against CO poisoning. Every floor and every sleeping area should have them installed.
- Take additional steps to lessen your exposure to contaminants when cooking:
- Instead of using front burners, use back burners;
- If available, turn on the fan in your ventilation system or furnace in addition to the range hood exhaust fan;
- Ensure that a professional performs routine maintenance and inspections on your appliances. As advised by the manufacturer, this should be done once a year.
While cooking-related air pollution can harm anyone’s health, those who already have heart or lung diseases (including asthma), young children, and older adults are more likely to be negatively impacted by particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Learn more air-quality improvement tips at: https://newscanada.com/en/4-tips-to-improve-indoor-air-quality-while-cooking-139495
Reference: https://newscanada.com/
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