Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for family and friends to get together, relax and celebrate with tons of great food. Unless you're the one hosting, in which case you're the one making most of the food and there's no time to relax. With something cooking on every burner on the stove, plus the turkey in the oven, your kitchen will easily get hot and stuffy, which can lead to other problems. Here's how you can combat those problems with a bit of kitchen ventilation and other solutions.
Ensuring Proper Kitchen Ventilation
When you cook, steam rises, often filling the entire room. The moisture from that steam then settles on the walls, ceiling and countertops, leading to mold and mildew growth. There are also harmful emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), such as ozone and the particles from aerosol sprays, which are harmful to breathe. For this reason, it's essential to make sure your kitchen is properly ventilated.
If you don't have one already, install a range hood with an extraction fan above your stove. This eliminates those harmful fumes from your kitchen - but be sure the hood isn't installed too high and that the fan vents outside your home rather than into the attic. If you do have a range hood system, clean it thoroughly a day or two before Thanksgiving, to get rid of any grease buildup. And leave the fan running at least half an hour after you finish cooking, to ensure it ventilates properly.
Other Safety Concerns
Mold and mildew aren't the only safety hazards. With so much cooking going on, it's important to test your smoke alarms and make sure they're working properly. The same goes for Carbon Monoxide detectors, particularly if you're working with a gas stove. And have a working fire extinguisher in your kitchen at all times, in case any of your dishes get out of hand.
To learn more about kitchen ventilation this Thanksgiving, contact us at Valley Heating, Cooling, Electrical and Solar. Visit our website for in-depth information on most HVAC topics, or just give us a call at (408) 868-5500.