Frying Eggs and Air Quality Tests

Air quality measurements while cooking

• The article’s low PM2.5 numbers from frying eggs contrast with many commenters’ experiences using various monitors and purifiers.
• Several report PM2.5 going from low single digits to 70–400 µg/m³ when searing meat or burning oil, and to device max (500–999+) when frying bacon, pancetta, or badly overheating oil.
• Some air purifiers react strongly to cooking from other floors of the house, ramping to full power within a minute.
• Others note that gentle cooking (e.g., eggs not heavily browned) often doesn’t move the needle much.

Role of oil, heat, and browning

• Multiple commenters stress that the test scenario is “too clean”: low heat, little browning, and apparently not much oil.
• High heat, Maillard browning, and approaching or exceeding oil smoke point are repeatedly cited as the main drivers of PM2.5 spikes.
• Tiny burnt fragments or a brief oil overheat can generate disproportionate particulate levels compared to non-burnt cooking.
• Some note extensive grease deposition on high surfaces and inside hoods as evidence of significant aerosolized oil.

Gas vs electric / induction

• There’s agreement that gas combustion worsens indoor air quality, but disagreement about particles: some say gas adds mostly NO₂, CO₂, CO, and VOCs, not PM2.5.
• Induction/electric avoids combustion gases but still produces particulates from food and oil.
• A few anecdotes describe modern apartments with unvented gas ranges causing CO alarms.

Ventilation, hoods, and kitchen design

• Many extractor fans (especially over-the-range microwaves) merely recirculate air through weak filters and move relatively little air compared with proper external vents.
• Even externally vented hoods are often underpowered or constrained by poor ducting and lack of makeup air, so they dilute slowly rather than rapidly clearing spikes.
• Strong praise for enclosed, Chinese-style kitchens with powerful exterior vents; critics of open-plan Western layouts complain of “whole-house cooking smells” and lingering grease.
• Others value open kitchens for social reasons and accept some spread of odors.

Nonstick pans, PFAS, and tradeoffs

• Some prefer avoiding nonstick/PFAS and accept short pollution spikes plus filtration instead.
• Others argue that intact PTFE at non-smoking temperatures is likely low-risk for the user; the larger concern is PFAS pollution from manufacturing.
• Many use oil even on nonstick for better heat transfer, browning, and flavor.

Sensor limits and composition

• Commenters note that PM sensors report size, not chemistry; oil droplets, tire dust, and metal particles are likely to differ greatly in toxicity.
• Several point out that cooking generates ultrafine particles smaller than 2.5 µm that common PM2.5 sensors may miss.