Coal stove fumes?

14 years ago

Hi all. I use a nut coal stove to heat my house and have almost all my life. The stove is situated in the middle of my living room. As far as I know I've never had any problems other than the dust or when I add wet coal, which smells like rotten eggs.

About six years ago I had gas base board heat installed because my wife at the time was pregnant and didn't want our son exposed to the fumes/dust. After a year I went back to the coal stove. Since then I've gone through a divorce and am now engaged with a child on the way. My fiance has the same concerns as the ex. We had the furnace checked out and it's going to cost thousands of dollars to get fixed. So it looks like we're going to stick with the stove.

My question is, is what are the long term risks of using a coal stove around a child? The draft is good and as far as I know there are no leaks or problems with the stove.

Thanks.

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Comments (2)

oldpaddy
Original Author
13 years ago
Bump.
berlin
13 years ago
there are no long-term effects of using a coal stove around a child. It is perfectly safe for children, for yourself, and anyone else in your household. Where anyone gets the idea that it is not safe, I am not sure, but it is unfortunate and misguided. In fact there was some pretty good research in Europe that tried to determine risks, if any. What the researchers found was that not only did the children in homes heated with solid fuel not have any higher rates of asthma or respiratory illness, in fact, they showed substantially lower rates of respiratory illness including asthma. This was found to be more significant in homes heated by coal (rather than wood). You have nothing to worry about; stay warm this winter, enjoy your coal stove!