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Woodstoves and health

(40 Posts)
NotSpaghetti Fri 30-Dec-22 12:03:21

Here's another article- though you won't like it Experiencednotold as it's also the Guardian's environment editor.
It does link to the sites he's discussing.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/17/wood-burners-urban-air-pollution-cancer-risk-study

nanna8 Fri 30-Dec-22 12:02:16

We have one at our beach house which we use a few times a year in Winter. I adore it, it is so cosy. It has a very high flue for safety. We rarely buy wood because we tend to find enough in the garden, usually eucalyptus. I have never seen any smoke outside and it has a glass front door. Quite a few people have them down there. Log burning has been going on for a long,long time before they even had electricity and gas and long may it last.

NotSpaghetti Fri 30-Dec-22 12:00:49

I'm not denying how great they are.
I was surprised that well-managed high quality approved woodstoves are still causing pollution in our own homes.

I'm not trying to start a campaign against the woodstove!

Here's some of the evidence for those who are interested

www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/12/1326

Blondiescot Fri 30-Dec-22 11:58:00

We wouldn't be without ours now. We have several log stores around the garden, so we only burn the wood which has dried. We are lucky to be surrounded by woodlands, so have a ready access to free wood.

Oreo Fri 30-Dec-22 11:54:54

Barmeyoldbat

Well we have multi fuel burner and will never give it up. We burn only dry wood and have a gadget that we use on every log which tells us if it’s safe to use. I will only give up my burner when all gas guzzling and fume producing cars and lorries are no longer used and private jets and helicopters are also banned.

Same here.
We need it in Winter, especially in power cuts.

bluebird243 Fri 30-Dec-22 11:52:57

Me too Barmeyoldbat.

I burn kiln dried logs, no rubbish, and do not have central heating. It's lit for 4 hours a night for 4-5 months. I use my car less than once a week and haven't jetted abroad for 3 decades!

When other emissions, forest fires, bonfires, waste incineration, large commercial/industrial buildings full of chemicals cease catching fire, etc.etc.etc. I may think about giving up any heat in my home.

Septimia Fri 30-Dec-22 11:50:34

We have a multi fuel burner and try to use approved wood on it, although sometimes we have to forage for fuel. There's no way I'm giving it up if I can help it as it's the only alternative heating we have if there's a power cut (common here). We have oil central heating and no mains gas in the village. I'm sure that being cold is far less healthy than anything the stove can produce.

NotSpaghetti Fri 30-Dec-22 11:49:01

We also used a moisture meter and seasoned logs for 3 years and also burned with the doors closed.
Interesting though that the info was not just Monbiot and I doubt he chose the images!

25Avalon Fri 30-Dec-22 11:44:15

Barmeyoldbat

Well we have multi fuel burner and will never give it up. We burn only dry wood and have a gadget that we use on every log which tells us if it’s safe to use. I will only give up my burner when all gas guzzling and fume producing cars and lorries are no longer used and private jets and helicopters are also banned.

Hear! Hear!

ExperiencedNotOld Fri 30-Dec-22 11:40:40

It was in the Guardiian. Not renowned for a balanced viewpoint, I’d suggest.

Grantanow Fri 30-Dec-22 11:24:41

There are government guidelines for using a woodburner. We always use very dry wood (test using a moisture meter) and never use it with the door open. We check the door seal is still in place. It's a good way of saving on gas for CH. I'm asthmatic and it does not affect me at all. Monbiot had a rant about them in the Guardian but the photo in his article showed the stove doors open! Most people in our street in rural Somerset have them and not for cottage chic! There's no doubt they cause particulate pollution but I suspect diesel cars and woodburning power stations here and abroad churn out far more.

TerriBull Fri 30-Dec-22 11:16:26

We have one, didn't particularly want one, but previous owners had it installed, we've occasionally used it, my husband says it makes him wheeze, I don't particularly like intense heat and it's a load of faff also. Not a fan!

Barmeyoldbat Fri 30-Dec-22 11:12:57

Well we have multi fuel burner and will never give it up. We burn only dry wood and have a gadget that we use on every log which tells us if it’s safe to use. I will only give up my burner when all gas guzzling and fume producing cars and lorries are no longer used and private jets and helicopters are also banned.

halfpint1 Fri 30-Dec-22 10:11:58

I'm a wood burner lover but without one in this house. I'm sure some one will tell me the facts are correct but I' m suspicious when this information is pushed, is it the fossil fuel giants behind the negativity?

NotSpaghetti Fri 30-Dec-22 09:58:10

Just read this about them:

Woodstoves release more small particulates (the most dangerous pollutants) than all the vehicles on the road. Even a modern, approved, “eco-friendly” wood burner produces 750 times as many fine particulates as a heavy goods vehicle.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/wood-burners-emit-more-particle-pollution-than-traffic-uk-data-shows

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/27/wood-burning-stove-environment-home-toxins?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I loved my woodstove which kept our whole home warm even in the midst of winter. I am dismayed to think I may have been releasing toxins actually into my home in spite of being a particularly modern "advanced" design with internal baffles etc.
My thinking was that the volatile "fumes" were burned off efficiently and the remainder ("clean" looking smoke) released up the chimney.

I am glad now that I haven't re-fitted my lovely, friendly, efficient woodstove when we moved.