cooking fumes

[mita vyas]

Hi,
I have a question related to cooking fumes. I have lung fibrosis for almost two years.

I never thought daily cooking can hurt my condition. I cook and do like cooking.

Any opinions?

[Margaret]

Cooking fumes are harmful to the lungs. When I was younger I worked in a commercial kitchen where the fumes were much worse than in a home kitchen. I have a good range hood and open a nearby window no matter what the weather to help cut down on the indoor pollution.

Wearing a respirator mask can help but it impedes my breathing too much.

[Charlene Marshall]

Hi @mehta & @msherbert

Thank you both for starting this conversation! Sadly I agree, there are a lot of environmental and occupational hazards that people aren’t aware of that can cause damage to the lungs. I’ve never heard of home kitchen fumes being problematic but it likely depends on what you’re cooking. I know for me, even if I accidentally burn something on the stove, the smoke really bothers me and I try to air everything out right away. Hopefully you’re both able to continue doing what you enjoy in the kitchen and find a way to protect your lungs!
Take care,
Char

[mita vyas]

Thanks for your replies.

Mita

[William Witowski]

I switched from a gas cooktop to an induction cooktop two weeks ago in order to improve our inside air quality.  I won’t have a checkup for another month or so but i cannot  make the IPF sound (tinkling glass) when I breathe deeply.

[William Witowski]

Pardon my lack of clarity.  I think my breathing has improved since removing our gas cooktop.

[John Barnett]

You don’t mention what type of cooking appliance you are using. Electric ranges, induction, convection, microwave do not emit any fumes from operation. Burning foods will add some indoor pollution but should be easily removed with an exhaust fan. Using the auto-clean function on some ranges might cause some fumes. However, the worst culprit is gas.

When natural gas or propane is burned, it does not burn entirely. What does not burn becomes part of the air within the environment of where it is being used. Natural gas, as well as bottled gas, contains other impurities which are not as flammable. Some are natural occurring and others are added as part of the process and some are gained through handling by pipelines, etc. These, in addition to unburned fuel can be harmful to anyone with an ILD. That is why the uproar by the government lately and why it is so important to use a good means of exhaust when cooking.

[Judy Palac]

I want to second what William said. I have a little air quality monitor from Air Things and the quality goes way down when I use my gas range. I bought a one-burner induction plate to see if I liked it, and now I use it to cook everything. The only drawback is that you must use steel or iron-bottom cookware–copper (as in Revere Ware, which I have) and aluminum don’t work. The induction plate cost less than $100, as opposed to a whole new cooktop.

[William Witowski]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Thanks. Judy. The info on poor indoor air quality when burning gas to cook made me act, but I didn’t expect anything quick or substantial. I can report breathing better since I stopped gas cooking.  A strong exhale no longer produces the “tinkling glass” sound,  I will get tested (CT scan,  lung function) in a month or so.</p>

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