Gas stoves, benzene, and air quality

June 23, 2023 6:25 AM

I'm becoming more concerned about my gas stove given the news lately. I've been thinking about getting a mini air purifier like this one (I have larger ones elsewhere in the house to help with allergies) on the counter next to the stove turned on when I'm using the stove/oven. Good idea/bad idea? Are there hazards/pitfalls to this approach, is there a better one? I would simply put on the range hood fan, but it sounds like that doesn't fully help the situation.
posted by tiny frying pan to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

A HEPA filter won't get rid of benzene, you'd need something with an activated carbon cartridge.
posted by Jobst at 7:25 AM on June 23, 2023

Response by poster: I know - the one I linked has a carbon cartridge as well.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:27 AM on June 23, 2023

Best answer: The paper also talks about benzene migrating out of the kitchen and into other rooms. I don't think a small purifier in the kitchen is going to help with that very much, if it's diffusing throughout the house.

This page from California's state government seems like a decent resource on filters for benzene. That one supposedly has an activated carbon part of the filter but I'm pretty skeptical of how effective something so small could be.
posted by BungaDunga at 7:27 AM on June 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for that link - it does seem like a "deep bed" (their words) of charcoal would be better, so a larger filter is definitely better.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:33 AM on June 23, 2023

Response by poster: (The filters they list also are like $700 which is...not going to happen. I guess I need a middle of the road solution to this, but I don't want to be bothering with anything that won't make a dent. Please don't tell me I'm doomed to breathe this stuff cause I'm on the lower economic end of things!)
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:35 AM on June 23, 2023

Best answer: (I will say that the California page is aimed at reducing benzene from an actual gas leak; it's possible that the volume and concentrations they're worried about are higher than from cooking and a smaller, cheaper filter would be fine, since you aren't cooking constantly, whereas in a gas leak situation there's more gas wafting through at all times. But I just look at a little filter like that and it trips my skepticism...)
posted by BungaDunga at 7:36 AM on June 23, 2023

Hoods not helping is in the special (useless) case where the hood doesn't exhaust outside but rather just recirculates the air through a grease filter.

Running a properly sized, externally vented hoodfan everytime you have a burner on (including the oven if gas) and leaving it on for a while after turning the gas off (I'd want at least two full air changes of the kitchen before turning it off) will go a long way to mitigating the immediate hazard. Most people don't take these steps because the fan is noisy.

Also you need 100 CFM per 10,000 BTUs of fan for it to be effective. Most builder hoods are only a couple hundred CFM and grossly undersized.

So check your range's BTU rating, check the CFM rating of your fan, make adjustments if needed (more is better). You may need make up air if in a tight house. Be diligent about using the fan.

If your hood does not vent outside open your window. Maybe install and use one of those window fans and buy one with the highest CFM rating you can fit.

In a heating climate all that air exchange costs a lot in heating costs making coverting to electric more attractive.
posted by Mitheral at 8:27 AM on June 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: How can I be sure my hood range is externally vented?
posted by tiny frying pan at 8:34 AM on June 23, 2023

Best answer: How can I be sure my hood range is externally vented?

If the hood is vented externally there will be vent on the exterior of the building - in my home, there's literally a hole through the exterior wall above the stove, but it's also possible to have ductwork from the hood to a vent somewhere else. I don't *think* you can vent a stove into e.g. a chimney but I could be wrong.

If it's on an interior wall and there's no ductwork, it's not externally vented (and it probably blows air out the front of the hood).

I feel like I'm always saying, "get an energy audit!" but if you have the opportunity to get an energy audit (often cheap or free) this is something they can look at for you.
posted by mskyle at 8:41 AM on June 23, 2023

Best answer: In addition to finding an air purifier and/or using the stove hood effectively, you might use the gas stove less by getting a portable induction unit for most of your stove top cooking. You can get one for under $60, or maybe $10 if you go to a thrift store. I used two units and my toaster oven for 90% of my cooking for two years (before I replaced my gas range with an induction range) and was pretty happy with this setup.
posted by maudlin at 8:58 AM on June 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

To be 100% sure, you have to turn it on and go onto your roof and find the blowing air. Or you can crawl about in your attic to find the ducting to the roof.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:08 AM on June 23, 2023

Response by poster: (I'm going to assume its properly ducted - the outside of our brick building has extra brick sticking out above our stove and the upstairs neighbors, leading to the roof - impossible to see more. I'll ask my landlord about it sometime, but as he's nuts about safety, I'm going to lean on the side of headed out to the roof properly, thank you for this info!)
posted by tiny frying pan at 9:13 AM on June 23, 2023

Another vote for countertop induction unit. Even though it's just a single burner, it will cut down your gas fumes significantly because you can make that the primary burner you use most of the time.

Caveat: this only works if you are using pots made of cast iron or ferromagnetic stainless steel (at least the bottom). Test the bottom of your pots with a magnet to see if they are induction-friendly.
posted by splitpeasoup at 9:48 AM on June 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

We used a countertop induction unit for over a year before we could get our stove replaced. It was truly a fantastic upgrade from a gas range! Cheaper and more effective than an air purifier. We just set a “noodle board” on top of the stove and set the induction thing on top of that. Did the same with a cheap toaster oven.
posted by Bottlecap at 11:55 AM on June 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

I put my induction units on a couple of non-stick (aluminum) baking trays on top of my gas range. I also pulled off the knobs at the front of the stove to avoid accidentally turning on the gas and put them back the few times I needed to use the gas range.
posted by maudlin at 12:40 PM on June 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You could probably verify that it's ducting externally with an incense stick or fog machine. Put the smoke source near the duct while the exhaust fan is on and it should be pretty obvious if it vents back inside.
posted by Aleyn at 2:50 PM on June 23, 2023

Here’s the Ikea induction burner we have. It’s great! Super portable too: we like to bring it to the dining table to warm a soup or do shabu shabu.
posted by ec2y at 5:59 AM on June 24, 2023