Improving Your Home and the Environment

The poor indoor air quality in some homes may be traced to factors that originate in the kitchen. Is your kitchen affecting the quality of the air that you breathe when you are at home? This article discusses some of the kitchen-related factors that can lower indoor air quality.

Household Cleaners

Have you ever noticed that the smell of a household cleaning product can linger in your home long after you have replaced the cap on the container of that cleaner? Irritating and unhealthy vapours may be coming from the cleaning products that you use or store in your kitchen. Those vapours can circulate within your entire home in case your HVAC system isn't equipped to get rid of them. Several options can reduce this problem. First, select products that are non-toxic and non-aerosol. Secondly, use, store and dispose of those products in the way that was stipulated by the manufacturer.

Pressed-Wood Kitchen Cabinets

Kitchen cabinets that are made from pressed wood can give off toxic substances, such as formaldehyde. You can avoid this problem by buying cabinets that were made from metal or solid wood. Such materials usually don't contain this harmful substance. Alternatively, you can fully ventilate the kitchen after installing the pressed-wood cabinets. This will get rid of any vapours that are given off by the wood. You should also avoid letting the temperature in the kitchen to rise to high levels because this increases the rate at which those vapours are given off. A ceiling fan can help you to prevent the temperature from rising excessively as you cook.

Stoves and Ranges

Combustion byproducts (soot, for example) and carbon monoxide can affect indoor air quality if your gas-powered stoves and ranges are not properly vented. It is helpful to install an exhaust fan so that any smoke and soot can be taken out of the kitchen quickly. You should also clean those appliances frequently so that spills don't worsen the indoor air quality when they heat up. Adjust the burner so that it only emits a blue flame. Yellow flames indicate incomplete combustion and increase indoor air pollutants.

The kitchen is not the only potential cause of poor indoor air quality. Other factors, such as the ground on which your home was built, can pose serious threats to indoor air quality. It is therefore advisable to hire a provider of air quality services so that a comprehensive inspection can be conducted. A holistic remedy can then be implemented in order to fix any indoor air quality issues discovered.