\nA roaring fire can really make wintertime more bearable. But could it be dangerous to your health? Here are the reasons why your fireplace could be toxic.\n
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There are many common fire hazards in your home, but this health hazard concerns the smoke from that cozy fire. Wood smoke actually contains some pretty potent toxins, including benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It also adds particulates to the air, which can harm your lungs.\n
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One of the biggest dangers of fireplaces is also one of the hardest to detect: carbon monoxide.\n
\u201cCarbon monoxide is the odorless, colorless toxic byproduct of burning fuel,\u201d says Dr. Ian Tong, chief medical officer for Doctors on Demand.\n
\u201cIt competes for space in red blood cells with oxygen. So even a small amount can impact your body\u2019s ability to carry oxygen to the cells. Exposure to this gas can literally poison or suffocate you without warning, but it can also cause numerous symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and nausea.\u201d\n
To minimize the risk, install carbon monoxide detectors and sit away from the fireplace.\n
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People with asthma always need to be on the lookout for surprising triggers for an asthma attack. The particulates in the air from burning wood could exacerbate breathing difficulties associated with asthma.\n
\u201cAsthmatics should avoid open fires,\u201d says Tong. \u201cIf that is the only way to stay warm, then exercise caution and wear an N95 mask.\u201d\n
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Anything near the fireplace could potentially heat up and release toxins.\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not always what is in your fireplace that poses the danger, but what is around the fireplace and the vents for the fireplace that needs some attention,\u201d says Tong. \u201cDo not leave plastics or chemicals or cleaners near the heat, as these could be flammable or toxic when heated. Also do not use tape around vent ducts, as this could cause a build-up of carbon monoxide.\u201d\n
This is especially an issue around the holidays. One of the arguments in the ongoing fake vs. real Christmas tree debate is that artificial trees are sprayed with fire retardant to make them less flammable, whereas dry evergreens could easily catch fire if exposed to heat.\n
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People with chronic respiratory conditions like COPD could be putting themselves at risk by regularly using a fireplace. \u201cIf you have an existing respiratory condition, you should really pay close attention to air quality in your home,\u201d Tong says. He suggests using a humidifier or a HEPA air filter to help remove the particulates that can do the worst damage.\n
Here\u2019s how HEPA filters and other tools can help by reducing your exposure to allergens. Doctors have been particularly impressed with Molekule, an air purifier that uses nanotechnology to break down pollutants on a molecular level. It\u2019s reportedly good against allergens, mold, bacteria, viruses and airborne chemicals.\n
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The EPA warns that short-term exposure to wood smoke could lead to the development of acute bronchitis. After repeated exposures to wood smoke, you could develop chronic bronchitis.\n
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A 2010 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that fireplace users had an elevated risk of developing lung cancer. Tong also warns of the risk: \u201cRepeat exposure can permanently damage the lungs and increase the risk of cancer similar to smoking.\u201d\n
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On TV shows, criminals seem to burn a whole lot of evidence in the flames \u2014 clothing, tapes or discs, and more. But Tong says that the list of safe things to burn in a fireplace is pretty short.\n
\u201cItems that burn inefficiently create the most carbon monoxide,\u201d he says. \u201cAvoid burning wet wood, cardboard, paper with color print, Christmas trees, painted or treated wood, plywood, particleboard or chipboard or plastics.\u201d\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A roaring fire can really make wintertime more bearable. But could it be dangerous to your health? Here are the reasons why your fireplace could be toxic. 1. Wood Smoke Contains Some Nasty Chemicals There are many common fire hazards in your home, but this health hazard concerns the smoke from that cozy fire. Wood\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15169,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"A roaring fire can really make wintertime more bearable. But could it be dangerous to your health? Here are the reasons why your fireplace could be toxic.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[51,110,176,30,149,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-15168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tie-life-style","8":"tag-healthy","9":"tag-healthy-life","10":"tag-home-tips","11":"tag-household-hacks","12":"tag-household-problems","13":"tag-life-style"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Scary-Things-Your-Fireplac.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lorevista.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}