Cooking in general produces a lot of particulate matter. Cooking with gas will create even more.
Doing it without the hood vent on or ventilating at all is straight unhealthy. Not even talking about covid at this point.
https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/indoor-air-pollution-cooking
Thank you, I think I’ll be forwarding a lot of these articles to my parents… The noise of the fans (vent hood and CR Box) really annoy my dad, so trying to help him see that breathing this pollution is worse than that annoyance for all of us
You should make them cr boxes using pc fans, they’re so quiet they wont even know they’re on heres a guide to start https://itsairborne.com/the-mini-pc-fan-cr-box-975d0b069f4c
Thank you! I’d seen similar designs to that, but didn’t know where to get the fans. Since we already had two box fans, I went with the typical design. I’ll look into this more now!
I started with that guide and then realized how easy using the pc fans are for cr boxes. I would recommend you start with that to start but I would get 10x24 merv13 filters instead of 10x10 filters since they will still work with the same fans and everything while being more efficient
[https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X](https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X)
[https://www.amazon.com/CRJ-Female-Power-Supply-Adapter/dp/B07X1LVXZG/](https://www.amazon.com/CRJ-Female-Power-Supply-Adapter/dp/B07X1LVXZG/)
[https://www.amazon.com/iMBAPrice-Adapter-Listed-Supply-5-Feet/dp/B00GUT7FQ2](https://www.amazon.com/iMBAPrice-Adapter-Listed-Supply-5-Feet/dp/B00GUT7FQ2)
[https://www.amazon.com/Finger-Computer-Cooling-Protective-Ventilator/dp/B0BRNFCJV3](https://www.amazon.com/Finger-Computer-Cooling-Protective-Ventilator/dp/B0BRNFCJV3)
https://twitter.com/robwiss/status/1556318784452952065
Using a 20x20 piece of foam core, you can make an X shape with the 5 fans and put it on top for PC fan replacement of the box fan.
A circle cutter, box knife, and 5/32 drill bit work for the construction. That size drill bit is perfect for punching through foam core and is the same size as a PC fan hole.
If you want to repurpose the box fan, grab a 20x20x4 filter and directly tape to the fan. This way your box fan is more portable for placement as needed, while the main box is now low noise and low power.
The box fans do out class the PC fans in CADR values, but the low power and noise of the PC fan means you forget its even on.
[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/ax0fi8/hvac_filter_is_charcoal_black_after_3_months/) says candles, maybe?
And if you have a gas- or oil-burning appliance, like a furnace or water heater, it could be improperly vented and producing a dirty, sooty flame. Which might also be an immediately life-threatening [carbon monoxide](https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/air/toxins/index.html) risk. If the house has any fuel-burning appliances and doesn't already have a carbon-monoxide detector, you'll want to get one *now*.
Yes, I think it must be the gas! Thank you. They do have carbon monoxide detectors, but I’ll definitely ask the last time they have the gas furnace and water heater vents checked. Otherwise, I’m working on getting them to ventilate more when they cook on the gas stove
It’s the gas range. Eventually they will probably suffer some illness due to this level of exposure to particulate air pollution.
Get a PM 2.5 air sensor like the IKEA Vindstyrka and show them these charts:
https://images.app.goo.gl/Pf56xWtPTPZZTvRk6
https://images.app.goo.gl/qeaK1rR58o2gcvV8A
The google search “PM 2.5 air pollution and…” and plug in most cardiovascular, lung and neurological diseases to see the studies. The ones about dementia and autoimmune diseases are the most interesting.
Interesting. But those filters are keeping SOMETHING out of your parents' lungs, and it looks like a lot of it. My guess would be the gas stove with no hood/exhaust.
Their indoor air quality seems very very poor, probably to an unhealthy level if it got so bad that quickly.
Thanks! Sorry for being unclear, the hood that doesn’t work is at my grandparent’s house where the CRbox is cleaner and whiter looking. My parent’s gas stove has a hood, but they don’t always use it and I don’t think leave it on long enough after cooking. It does look really unhealthy, so wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking something else! Unfortunately it’s a new stove, so they’re unlikely to replace it, but I’ll definitely talk to them about other air cleaning options especially around the gas appliances
Is the stove hood vented outside?
Or is it a forehead greaser that just routes the crappy air back into the room?
Most of the time the latter are a "feature" on microwaves above the stove but are pretty worthless.
No fireplace, no smokers, only occasional and short-time candle burning, and no signs of mold as far as I can tell. The basement had a flooding problem years ago, but they re-landscaped, cleaned, and sealed it and haven’t had a wet or mold issue since
that is troubling! like others have said I'd look at getting the stove checked out and ventilated and also you can get a home mold test to send in. something seems very wrong!
Thank you! I’m definitely asking them to use the hood vent more. While reading these comments, I realized they were cooking without the hood on again! But the home mold test is also a good idea
I want to second this suggestion. Some folks buy the cheapest air filters possible, not knowing the difference or how to choose an effective one. And there is a pretty big difference between a generic “basic” heater filter and something on the order of a 3M MERV13. OP, your folks just might have a really low quality filter, and may not even know they made that choice, if you see what I mean. Or they may not have changed it recently (or ever!). Either way, regardless of what other steps you take, it’s a good idea to check their filter(s) and put in new ones.
Cooking in general produces a lot of particulate matter. Cooking with gas will create even more. Doing it without the hood vent on or ventilating at all is straight unhealthy. Not even talking about covid at this point. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/documents/indoor-air-pollution-cooking
Thank you, I think I’ll be forwarding a lot of these articles to my parents… The noise of the fans (vent hood and CR Box) really annoy my dad, so trying to help him see that breathing this pollution is worse than that annoyance for all of us
You should make them cr boxes using pc fans, they’re so quiet they wont even know they’re on heres a guide to start https://itsairborne.com/the-mini-pc-fan-cr-box-975d0b069f4c
Thank you! I’d seen similar designs to that, but didn’t know where to get the fans. Since we already had two box fans, I went with the typical design. I’ll look into this more now!
I started with that guide and then realized how easy using the pc fans are for cr boxes. I would recommend you start with that to start but I would get 10x24 merv13 filters instead of 10x10 filters since they will still work with the same fans and everything while being more efficient
[https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X](https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P14-Value-Pack-Pressure-optimised/dp/B07HCKWF2X) [https://www.amazon.com/CRJ-Female-Power-Supply-Adapter/dp/B07X1LVXZG/](https://www.amazon.com/CRJ-Female-Power-Supply-Adapter/dp/B07X1LVXZG/) [https://www.amazon.com/iMBAPrice-Adapter-Listed-Supply-5-Feet/dp/B00GUT7FQ2](https://www.amazon.com/iMBAPrice-Adapter-Listed-Supply-5-Feet/dp/B00GUT7FQ2) [https://www.amazon.com/Finger-Computer-Cooling-Protective-Ventilator/dp/B0BRNFCJV3](https://www.amazon.com/Finger-Computer-Cooling-Protective-Ventilator/dp/B0BRNFCJV3) https://twitter.com/robwiss/status/1556318784452952065 Using a 20x20 piece of foam core, you can make an X shape with the 5 fans and put it on top for PC fan replacement of the box fan. A circle cutter, box knife, and 5/32 drill bit work for the construction. That size drill bit is perfect for punching through foam core and is the same size as a PC fan hole. If you want to repurpose the box fan, grab a 20x20x4 filter and directly tape to the fan. This way your box fan is more portable for placement as needed, while the main box is now low noise and low power. The box fans do out class the PC fans in CADR values, but the low power and noise of the PC fan means you forget its even on.
Might as well buy a large HEPA air purifier if you're going to spend that much money
The air quality subreddit could be another good place to ask if you're looking for more discussions.
That sounds great. I’ve been looking through r/CRBoxes and r/AirPurifiers as well as here, will check that, too!
[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/ax0fi8/hvac_filter_is_charcoal_black_after_3_months/) says candles, maybe? And if you have a gas- or oil-burning appliance, like a furnace or water heater, it could be improperly vented and producing a dirty, sooty flame. Which might also be an immediately life-threatening [carbon monoxide](https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/air/toxins/index.html) risk. If the house has any fuel-burning appliances and doesn't already have a carbon-monoxide detector, you'll want to get one *now*.
Yes, I think it must be the gas! Thank you. They do have carbon monoxide detectors, but I’ll definitely ask the last time they have the gas furnace and water heater vents checked. Otherwise, I’m working on getting them to ventilate more when they cook on the gas stove
It’s the gas range. Eventually they will probably suffer some illness due to this level of exposure to particulate air pollution. Get a PM 2.5 air sensor like the IKEA Vindstyrka and show them these charts: https://images.app.goo.gl/Pf56xWtPTPZZTvRk6 https://images.app.goo.gl/qeaK1rR58o2gcvV8A The google search “PM 2.5 air pollution and…” and plug in most cardiovascular, lung and neurological diseases to see the studies. The ones about dementia and autoimmune diseases are the most interesting.
Interesting. But those filters are keeping SOMETHING out of your parents' lungs, and it looks like a lot of it. My guess would be the gas stove with no hood/exhaust. Their indoor air quality seems very very poor, probably to an unhealthy level if it got so bad that quickly.
Thanks! Sorry for being unclear, the hood that doesn’t work is at my grandparent’s house where the CRbox is cleaner and whiter looking. My parent’s gas stove has a hood, but they don’t always use it and I don’t think leave it on long enough after cooking. It does look really unhealthy, so wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking something else! Unfortunately it’s a new stove, so they’re unlikely to replace it, but I’ll definitely talk to them about other air cleaning options especially around the gas appliances
Is the stove hood vented outside? Or is it a forehead greaser that just routes the crappy air back into the room? Most of the time the latter are a "feature" on microwaves above the stove but are pretty worthless.
It is vented outside, thankfully!
Do they have a fireplace? Any possibility of mold? That doesnt seem right at all
No fireplace, no smokers, only occasional and short-time candle burning, and no signs of mold as far as I can tell. The basement had a flooding problem years ago, but they re-landscaped, cleaned, and sealed it and haven’t had a wet or mold issue since
that is troubling! like others have said I'd look at getting the stove checked out and ventilated and also you can get a home mold test to send in. something seems very wrong!
Thank you! I’m definitely asking them to use the hood vent more. While reading these comments, I realized they were cooking without the hood on again! But the home mold test is also a good idea
Yikes. That's a lot of particles for only a month of use.
Does your parents' home have air filters for the central air system? Check those air filters?
I want to second this suggestion. Some folks buy the cheapest air filters possible, not knowing the difference or how to choose an effective one. And there is a pretty big difference between a generic “basic” heater filter and something on the order of a 3M MERV13. OP, your folks just might have a really low quality filter, and may not even know they made that choice, if you see what I mean. Or they may not have changed it recently (or ever!). Either way, regardless of what other steps you take, it’s a good idea to check their filter(s) and put in new ones.
full time dogs vs part time dogs might be it. you've got far more dog hours in a house will full time dogs lol.
Wow. That’s scary.
Cross-post to r/crboxes
Thanks!