Do Gas Stoves Need To Be Vented?
When you buy a new stove, it’s always important to make sure that it is set up properly. In some cases, the installation may require a professional. One of the things you will need to consider is whether or not you need to ventilate the stove.
When to Vent? Although some models are designed for use without ventilation, most stoves need to be properly vented. In many cases, a ventilation system may be required by local laws and building codes. If you’re not sure about your local codes, talk with your retailer or installer.
You may want ventilation if:
- The kitchen has no windows. Without windows, you’ll need ventilation so that steam and odors can escape the room.
- You have an open-plan kitchen and living area. In areas where the kitchen is open to other rooms in the house, you’ll want a ventilation system so that smoke and fumes are removed from the rest of the home.
- The kitchen is part of a common area in an apartment complex or condominium. You’ll want ventilation so that smoke and fumes don’t spread through shared areas or common ducts or vents.
10 Reasons Why Gas Stoves Need To Be Vented
Gas stoves are a wonderful addition to the kitchen but need to be vented. If you don’t have a vent hood, or if it is not strong enough, here are 10 reasons why gas stoves need to be vented.
1. The smell of food can be removed from the kitchen, home, and clothes
The smell of onions cooking can be delightful, but when it lingers in the house for days it becomes annoying. A range hood can help remove cooking smells from the house so that you can enjoy your meal without the lingering scent of onions, garlic, and other foods that tend to linger long after dinner is finished.
2. Smoke and grease can be removed from the kitchen
Cooking on a gas stove produces smoke and grease that can sit on your walls and ceiling making them look dull and dingy. If they build up too much they can also become a fire hazard. Removing smoke and grease with a range hood will keep your kitchen looking fresh and clean
3. Range hoods improve indoor air quality by removing pollutants
Unless you are using an outdoor grill, cooking with gas produces pollutants in your home’s air. Over time these pollutants can cause symptoms such as headaches and sinus congestion for people who are sensitive to them or who have allergies or asthma.
4. To Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
The most obvious reason to ventilate your gas stove is that it helps to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. When natural gas burns, it produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct. This invisible, odorless gas can build up in an unventilated kitchen or home and make you very sick.
Symptoms of mild carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, and shortness of breath; more severe poisoning can lead to death from loss of consciousness and failure of the heart and lungs.
5. A properly installed vent hood over your range will help keep the area around the stove cleaner
Not only does a hood remove cooking odors from the air, but it also removes much of the grease that would otherwise end up on cabinets, walls, and other surfaces above your stovetop.
6. Cook At Higher Temperatures
With a vented hood, you can cook at higher temperatures without having to worry about burning yourself or setting off smoke alarms when cooking foods that produce a lot of smoke such as bacon or hamburgers on high heat settings.
7. Venting increases the longevity of the life of your gas stove
By removing the heat build-up and moisture from around the burners on the top of the stove and flames on a conventional oven. Keeping an even temperature helps keep parts from failing sooner than they should.
8. It makes cooking easier
It is easier to see what you’re cooking if you have decent lighting over your cooktop, which is not possible with venting. Also, it’s easier to get rid of those nasty fumes created by food splattering onto the heat source.
9. It gives you better cooking results
If you’re having trouble seeing what you’re cooking and don’t want to open windows or turn on fans, you can install a downdraft system that pulls air down and out rather than up through a hood. This pulls air over food being cooked, which can actually enhance flavor and result in better-tasting food!
10. Venting reduces the amount of moisture in the air around your stove.
This helps reduce grease build-up and rust on your stove’s burners and inside your oven. Venting removes heat from around your burners on top of your stove and from inside your oven cavity. This keeps your kitchen cooler by removing the heat generated by cooking away from the kitchen area.
11. Venting prevents the staining of walls and ceilings
Properly installed venting will funnel moisture and stains up and away from your walls and ceilings so that you won’t end up with unsightly water stains on your wall or ceiling. Condensation that isn’t properly vented can cause paint to peel, plaster to crack, stains on ceilings and walls, as well as mold and mildew growth.
12. Venting makes your stove safer
While there are no strict regulations as to how a gas stove should be installed, there are certain safety standards that must be met. All approved gas appliances must have proper ventilation.
A gas flame needs air to burn properly, and if there is not enough air getting into the room from outside, then the flame will begin pulling oxygen from inside the home. This can cause carbon monoxide poisoning and be a fire hazard as well. For more about CO poisoning see this link warning signs of CO poisoning.
13. Venting prevents backdrafts
When there is not enough combustion air coming into the room, backdrafts can occur. These happen when warm air moves up the chimney and is replaced by cold air coming down the chimney (or flue pipe if you don’t have one). This creates a siphoning effect where more air is sucked out of the house than comes in.
14. Venting removes heat from your kitchen.
If you are cooking on a hot summer day, the last thing you want is to heat up an already hot room even more!
In summary, Most gas stoves today are sealed and do not need to be vented. However, it is always good to check with your stove owner’s manual or the manufacturer. You can also see if your stove has a venting system by looking at the back of the unit. If it does have a venting system, you will see a ventilation panel from where the heat and smoke can escape.
If your stove does require ventilation, make sure to use the correct stove venting materials for installation. You should also follow all of the building codes for the proper installation of your venting system.
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