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Air Pollution in Our Homes

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Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#21

Post by not_a_moth »

I have a sensitivity to certain cooking fumes. I've tried to assess it objectively like it's a nocebo, which would be great if it were.

There are two cafes in SF I used to frequent who do their cooking in the same main space as guests, do not have much if any ventilation, and, if I was there hacking on my laptop around lunch time, I would always get headaches and need to leave. (one is a trendy workspace cafe, that I feel bad naming). It has not happened at other SF cafes despite a lot of working-in-cafes. I also used to have a roommate who didn't like the sound of our ventilation fan and wouldn't open the kitchen back door (to the outdoors) because of the cool air. Anytime she cooked with the oven I would get a headache and need to leave the apartment, while having no problem with the third roommate's cooking who preferred to ventilate.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#22

Post by jjtheblunt »

downtide wrote: post #17

I always wonder about small acrylic hairs and such that float about the house. In a bright room just flex your jumper, there's thousands of these weird impurities, and I can't imagine they can be filtered out easily before or after getting into the lungs. The biggest shocker is when you disturb loft insulation. They claim it's not terrible (specifically if undisturbed), but floating glass strands can't be all that ni…

Fiberglas is listed in the US anyway as a carcinogen.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#23

Post by orliesaurus »

eeZah7Ux wrote: post #14
orliesaurus wrote: post #5

The narrative in this article is heavy, but basically if I understand this right..cooking food indoors pollutes the air, and because you are in your kitchen indoors, you're polluting your own living space's air?

"The narrative in this article is heavy"... to put it mildly. It's terrible writing.

Maybe I'm just not part of the target audience

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#24

Post by jly »

bluGill wrote: post #8
jartelt wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People in some countries have been cooking with indoor wood-fired stoves forever, yet we know for sure that these stoves are bad for respiratory health. That doesn't mean all the research is wrong! I think the big take away is that you should pretty much always turn on the exhaust hood over your stove top when you cook. Doing so removes many of the particles generated by cooking.

In most homes the "exhaust hood" doesn't vent to outside. It filters the big particles out and mixes the rest. I'm not sure if this is better or not, but the difference isn't much, and after a short time they are the same.

The big particles are not what is most dangerous. Range hoods that recirculate air are not helpful. All kitchens should have externally-exhausted vent hoods, and it's even more important when using gas ranges, since a lot of harmful combustion byproducts are also being created (NO2, CO, etc). Sadly as you point out, this is far less common than it should be.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#25

Post by rootusrootus »

bluGill wrote: post #8
jartelt wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People in some countries have been cooking with indoor wood-fired stoves forever, yet we know for sure that these stoves are bad for respiratory health. That doesn't mean all the research is wrong! I think the big take away is that you should pretty much always turn on the exhaust hood over your stove top when you cook. Doing so removes many of the particles generated by cooking.

In most homes the "exhaust hood" doesn't vent to outside. It filters the big particles out and mixes the rest. I'm not sure if this is better or not, but the difference isn't much, and after a short time they are the same.

In my experience [in the US, particularly the PNW] most single family homes vent outside, but it isn't uncommon for dinky apartments with retrofitted exhaust hoods to simply filter and recirculate.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#26

Post by jly »

surfmike wrote: post #13

I got a air quality monitor when we had the California wildfires, and I was shocked to learn that my air quality was worse indoors when cooking than outdoors during the wildfires. (I am now in the process of getting a properly vented range hood instead of the dinky recirculating one we have).

I bought an AQI / PM2.5 monitor and was shocked to find the same thing. I placed it in an upstairs bedroom, far removed from the kitchen, and the PM2.5 readings jump to unhealthy levels within minutes or cooking, even that far away. HVAC systems do a great job of circulating bad air throughout the home. I've also observed measurable CO level increases in the upstairs while running a gas oven, using a low-level monitor.

I've also come to the conclusion that a vented range hood is really an essential for indoor cooking of any kind. It should definitely be the #1 priority for any home to improve air quality.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#27

Post by frutiger »

downtide wrote: post #17

I always wonder about small acrylic hairs and such that float about the house. In a bright room just flex your jumper, there's thousands of these weird impurities, and I can't imagine they can be filtered out easily before or after getting into the lungs. The biggest shocker is when you disturb loft insulation. They claim it's not terrible (specifically if undisturbed), but floating glass strands can't be all that ni…

They don’t need to be filtered. They get trapped in mucus. The constant flow of mucus from all your mucosal membranes pushes these outwards.

In the case of your lungs they get delivered to the great acid bath that is your stomach.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#28

Post by graeme »

not_a_moth wrote: post #21

I have a sensitivity to certain cooking fumes. I've tried to assess it objectively like it's a nocebo, which would be great if it were. There are two cafes in SF I used to frequent who do their cooking in the same main space as guests, do not have much if any ventilation, and, if I was there hacking on my laptop around lunch time, I would always get headaches and need to leave. (one is a trendy workspace cafe, that I…

If you got an air quality monitor you'd likely see shocking levels in those scenarios. I got a laseregg two, and normal frying can send indoor air quality to unhealthy levels if something gets a bit browned. Even with a fan on.

It's portable and has a battery. Quite eye opening to test it in various scenarios.

Re: Air Pollution in Our Homes

#30

Post by jly »

graeme wrote: post #28
not_a_moth wrote: post #21

I have a sensitivity to certain cooking fumes. I've tried to assess it objectively like it's a nocebo, which would be great if it were. There are two cafes in SF I used to frequent who do their cooking in the same main space as guests, do not have much if any ventilation, and, if I was there hacking on my laptop around lunch time, I would always get headaches and need to leave. (one is a trendy workspace cafe, that I…

If you got an air quality monitor you'd likely see shocking levels in those scenarios. I got a laseregg two, and normal frying can send indoor air quality to unhealthy levels if something gets a bit browned. Even with a fan on. It's portable and has a battery. Quite eye opening to test it in various scenarios.

I'll second the LaserEgg 2. Great product and I've also had some eye-opening experience with cooking and indoor AQI. These used to be tougher to find in the US but I think you can get them on Amazon, now.
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