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Hot take: Gas stoves are worse for indoor air than I thought
I used to roll my eyes at people saying gas stoves were dangerous. I grew up cooking on one, no issues. Then last month I borrowed a cheap air quality monitor from a friend in Denver. I ran it during dinner prep, searing a steak on my gas burner. The nitrogen dioxide spiked to over 200 ppb in 10 minutes, way above the EPA outdoor standard. I kept the kitchen door open and ran the hood fan, but it barely helped. After that I looked up studies from places like Stanford and the California Air Resources Board. Now I'm seriously considering switching to induction, even though it hurts my pride a bit. Has anyone else tested their own air and changed their mind?
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pat7811mo ago
Man, @the_rowan, you're asking the right question. A buddy of mine tested his air after reading that same Stanford study, said his steak smoke actually spiked the CO higher than the burner did. He switched to induction a month ago, and now he says he can finally breathe easy in his own kitchen.
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blair_nguyen1mo ago
Yeah, "breathe easy in his own kitchen" - that's rich considering he probably still burns his toast every other morning. But jokes aside, dude's got a point. I've got a gas range myself, and after reading that study I started cracking a window every time I sear anything. It's not just the steak smoke either - those burners put out more junk than people realize. My wife was skeptical until I borrowed a CO monitor from a buddy and showed her the numbers. We're not switching to induction yet but we're definitely more careful about ventilation now. You don't gotta go all in on new appliances if you can just open a window and run the hood fan.
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