Best Way to Deal with the Different Kinds of Allergic Factors in Kitchen

The main features of a kitchen likely to affect the frequency or severity of an allergy sufferer’s symptoms are the type of cooking method used and the room’s ventilation.

Hobs (cooktops), ovens, and ranges

Cooking generates significant amounts of interior air pollution by producing vapours and airborne particulate matter such as grease. In addition, food particles that fall on to the burners are incinerated, releasing combustion by-products.

Although many people prefer to cook with gas, electric appliances are better in terms of air quality. Gas-fuelled appliances, in which the flame is open to the room’s air are a significant source of air pollution in the home. Burning gas releases water vapour as well as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and aldehydes.

If you cannot replace your cooker (stove), the following measures will help minimize the amount of pollution caused by burning gas:

• Appliances with electronic ignition are better than types that have constantly burning pilot lights, in terms both of fuel consumption and the emission of combustion gases. New models should be equipped with electronic ignition.
• Control the flame so that it is confined under the base of the pan.
• Follow the guidelines for interior air quality and ventilation.
• Use an extractor (exhaust) hood vented to the outside or open a window when cooking.
• Keep connecting doors shut while cooking to stop fumes and condensation spreading into the rest of the home

There are a few gas appliances some types of range oven, for example – that have a balanced flue. This means that combustion by­products, including water vapour are exhausted directly to the outside.

Oven cleaning

Products designed for cleaning ovens are another common source of air pollution in the kitchen, with most proprietary cleaners giving off irritating fumes. Safer methods of cleaning are available.

Many ovens have self-cleaning linings. These either oxidize the grease and dirt splashed on to them during cooking or burn it off. Burning grease and dirt may cause unpleasant fumes, which can irritate respiratory allergies. Some ovens use steam to loosen dirt, which you then need to wipe out.

Cooking methods

Always put lids on pans and use only as much water as is required. This reduces the amount of condensation produced as well as saving energy. A layered steamer cooks different vegetables simultaneously on a single burner producing less condensation.

A pressure cooker cooks food rapidly by increasing air pressure and raising the water temperature. As well as saving energy, pressure cooking also conserves more food nutrients than conventional cooking. Stir-frying in a wok is another energy-efficient way to cook food. It also conserves nutrients and, because of the rapid cooking time, minimizes pollutants.

There are no allergy-based reasons for avoiding microwave ovens.

Cooker (stove) hoods

These hoods are designed to suck up steam, grease, and odours, and must be installed at the height recommended by the manufacturer for maximum effectiveness. Most models have a variable speed control. Ask to hear the hood working before buying it. One consumer study found that operating noise was the main reason why people did not use their hoods. Those with remote fans are quieter

Ducted hoods

Some cooker (stove) hoods are ducted to the outside, thus ensuring that all combustion by-products and excess condensation are removed from the home. Air is sucked up from above the hob (cooktop) and passed through a grease filter before being expelled to the outside. The filter which can be made of foam, metal, or special paper, must either be regularly washed or replaced, and the ductwork to the outside should be as short and straight as possible.

It is important to have an opening window or some other source of clean air such as a window ventilator to replace the air removed by a ducted hood. If not, the hood will suck air from the rest of the house along the path of least resistance. This may be down the open flue of a boiler or water heater in or near the kitchen, and the resulting replacement air would then be many times more polluted than that being exhausted.

Unlike balanced-flue appliances, an open flue uses air from the room for combustion, and then expels combustion by-products up a chimney or flue. Whenever an open-flued appliance is installed in a house with an extractor (exhaust) such as a hood, a test should be carried out to ensure that combustion by-products “‘cannot be sucked back in. If you install a hood after gas appliances have been fitted, make sure this test is performed.

Recirculating hoods

There is no danger of air being sucked down an open flue by extractor (exhaust) hoods that recirculate air back into the kitchen via a filter However, although these models do remove grease and odours, they do not remove excess moisture and thus do not reduce humidity. If you cannot replace the hood with a ducted type, make sure that there is good ventilation during cooking by opening a window or outside door; but keep the door to the rest of the home shut to prevent moisture escaping into other rooms. If you choose a new cooker (stove) or range hood, take the following into consideration:

• Noise level when switched on
• Variability of speed control
• Ease of cleaning/replacing filters and cleaning the hood itself
• Ducted models are preferable to recirculating types