question about the oven in my kitchen....

[Warren]

everytime i turn the oven on in the kitchen my fiance and i both experience a slight breathing problem/chest pain. when i breath in deeply my chest has a weird feeling(i don't know how to discribe it). it's a gas oven/stove. i don't think it carbon monoxide because the detector it literaly a foot away from the stove. it only deos this when the oven is on and it never does it when the stove is on. and it just started doing it within the last month or so. can anyone tell me what is going on?

[Spartan]

What's an over?

It might be something else in the air, get one of those air quality testers that picks up trace gases of anything

[Krandall]

I've had carbon monoxide poisoning. You'll be able to feel that. Not really chest pains. But breathing problem starts (faster paced breathing) and then you'll get very light headed/head aches.

It only happens when you turn on the stove?

Like pat said, there's some good air quality testers out there.

I would guess carbon DIoxide poisoning next. Monoxide detector won't pick that up. Old house / old stove?

[Warren]

i didn't realize i put "over" through that whole post. lol but anyway....


yeah it's an older stove. it only happens if the oven is on. it never happens if just the stove top is running.

[Spartan]

Was there anything caked inside there? It's possible that it's built up some carbon and every time you heat it up it starts burning it...do you ever clean the inside out?

[Warren]

i haven't cleaned it lately, but the only thing that would be burnt in there is some cheese. but we put foil down in the bottom to catch that. i could try taking that out and let it heat up to see if it still happens.

[Spartan]

I'm not an expert on oven emissions but that's what makes sense to me based on your description, either something is broken and you're venting some gas, or you're heating up something that emits the fumes. And a lot of smoke/carbon monoxide detectors aren't entirely foolproof, some have different tolerances for what sets it off (to reduce false alarms).

[preddy08]

I'm guessing its a gas leak. Does it smell like anything?

I would stop using it until you figure it out!

[Peelz]

nobody painted the inside of the oven? If it is new, it could be factory coatings.... Could be that somebody used some cheap oven cleaner. Did you just get a new place perhaps??

[Warren]

the oven was in the house when we bought it back in novemeber last year. it just started doing this in the last few months.


it's not a gas leak. i know what gas smells like and it's not that. there is no smell in the kitchen when the oven is running.


i can't remember how old the oven is. i want to say the woman we bought the house from said it was new 5 or 10 years ago. i know that's a huge difference, but i can't remember for sure what she said.

[Peelz]

I'm lost then. Unless somebody cooked some amphetamines in it.

[Krandall]

That's weird bro. I'm w/ pat. on it sounds like its not venting correctly. can you pull the stove out and get behind it to check the vent? or hit up the roof maybe there's a bird or something stuck/dead.

[Lady4Fiddy]

First try taking the aluminum foil out of the oven, this may be causing a problem especially if it is not replaced after every use.

Unless there is a hood over the stove then a clog or vent problem wouldn't be likely. I used to work at whirlpool a few years back, I built oven ranges from the ground up. I would suggest lifting the stove top up (where the burners are completely exposed) and remove the piece that catches debris, until you see the insulation that covers the oven cavity. Lots of things can get trapped under there including cleaning chemicals, rodents and their urine and feces, and when the oven heats up it will produce smells and and harmful toxins.

If you find stuff in the insulation lightly vacuum it out trying not to remove too much insulation, if you find an area with a large stain try removing by pulling a piece of insulation off salvaging as much as you can. The insulation is very important for protecting your heating elements and electrical parts in the console.

If too much insulation needs to be removed call a local appliance store and see if you can order the piece of insulation to be replaced. If that doesn't help I would call your gas company, because sometimes the fumes can be unnoticeable to you when you are subjected to them for long periods of time. Most all gas companies will come out for free to check for a gas leak. Tell them what you have been experiencing and they will come test for many different things free of charge.

Good Luck! 

[vern burny]

I have always wondered why gas stoves are not vented.  A natural gas furnace and water heater are vent but a gas stove fed from the same gas line gets nothing.