Keep Indoor Air Quality in Mind this Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year. Friends and family gather in the kitchen cooking turkey, side dishes, and desserts. While this sounds enjoyable there is one important factor that you should keep in the back of your mind, indoor air quality.

While we’re busy cooking and entertaining company not many of us stop to think about the impact gases, heat, smoke, and ventilation can have on our home’s air quality and health.

Why should you be concerned about cooking pollutants?

Think of all the delicious smells that come out of your kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. These smells are actually caused by chemicals in the air. While most of these chemicals aren’t harmful they can still affect the air quality.

Cooking can produce:
• Additional chemicals, hydrocarbons and particulates from burnt food.
• Formaldehyde and other combustion gases from gas stoves.
• Oil particulates from frying oils and cooking sprays.
• Increased heat from cooking in the kitchen can cause additional gases from products such as the kitchen countertops, cabinets, and cookware.

Ensure the air quality in your home is safe by:

• Ventilating: Increase ventilation while you are cooking by using your range hood and opening windows.
• Limit use of cooking sprays/oils
• Clean: Be sure to clean up burnt food as soon as possible. Open a window or run the furnace fan when using cleaning supplies.
• Control moisture: When you use the stove, boiling and steam can increase condensation in the home. Dry up excess moisture after you finish cooking.

If the indoor air quality in your home is a concern we offer a variety of indoor air solutions to help you breathe easier in your Texas home. Contact us today.