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I’m glad that we’re taking steps to reduce pollution of the environment, but this treats only one symptom of indoor air pollution. As with Covid this year and secondhand cigarette smoke last decade, the problems of gas stoves stem not just from the burner, but from the ventilation of the environment around it.

If we had required excellent fresh air ventilation for indoor spaces, we might not have had to ban indoor smoking. I don’t smoke but I don’t mind if others do, as long as I have fresh air that isn’t polluted by their smoke. We might not have had to ban indoor dining during Covid, as long as each table’s air is pulled upwards and away from other diners and exhausted into fresh air, since the ventilation could contain UV scrubbers on intake and exhaust. As another comment here describes, we wouldn’t have people being poisoned by gas stoves, because the pollution would be vented rapidly in any building where they’re used.

Confronting the ventilation crisis is unfathomably difficult for America, and it’s unclear if politicians have the stomach to even consider it. I’m a little sad each time I see some new cause spin up to resolve an issue stemming from poor ventilation, even as I’m happy that the cause is correct in outcome. I just wish that we’d stop circling the issue and hone in on it and make it a national crisis, somehow. At the end of the day doing so would demand nationwide investment in revisions to the ventilation of every building in America, which would require national funding as most cannot afford to do so - and those that can would refuse, preferring to lobby against it instead of spending their own money.

In the meantime, crack the windows of your home as often as you can afford to do so. This problem isn’t the fault of any single renter or homeowner, and in the short term, that’s all you can do.

Ventilation previously on HN (139 comments): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19858155




tl;dr: also leave your furnace fan in the on/recirculate mode rather than auto.

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Also if you have a central furnace, leave the fan in the on/recirculate mode, rather than 'auto'. The power usage of modern furnace fans is very minimal, and the effect on air quality is significant. Especially if your furnace has a fresh air intake, which most do.

You can combine that with periodically cracking windows or running bathroom or stove exhaust fans (could even install a switch to automatically run the bathroom fan on a daily schedule). When things are sealed up, the furnace won't pull in a lot of outside air (but the recirculating still helps a lot), and then when you have an exhaust path (fan or window), it will pull in more. Then it's just a matter of finding out how much to exhaust. A bit each day should be fine, or you can get more precise with a CO2 sensor like [1]. Especially in a closed bedroom overnight, it's amazing the difference you'll see with the furnace fan and/or an exhaust fan running, or a window open.

1: https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Autopilot-Desktop-Monitor-L...




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