You’ve battened down for the winter, making sure all windows and doors are properly sealed to keep out the chill of the cold season … but what have you inadvertently sealed inside your home at the same time?

At Kevin Fahy Kitchens & Baths, we want to make sure everyone in the Utica, NY area knows the hidden dangers you might have lurking as close as your own kitchens. In the winter the problem is escalated by weather sealing, and potential troubles can be hiding in such mundane places as a cleaning sponge or in your oven.

Mold easily grows in damp and dark places, and can sometimes be found on a little-used sponge that was set aside while still wet. A small amount of household cleaning solution or some bleach will take care of that. But there are also little water trails that build up during the dish-washing and countertop cleansing processes, areas where some of the water might have splashed and run along the surface to a darker place that you can’t see. Those unseen pools are now also great breeding grounds for health-threatening mold, and need to be found and eliminated.

Every time you cook a meal, there is the danger of the after-effects of lighting your oven or stove, especially if they run on gas. If that gas appliance is not working properly, your Utica, NY kitchen can be polluted with carbon monoxide, which in higher levels can be fatal. Make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector nearby to alert you to any CO dangers, because you might not notice until too late. Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headaches, disorientation, and often resembles the flu. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 15,000 people across the country visit the emergency room each year after exposure to carbon monoxide.

If you cook, sooner or later you will burn something. You might also drip something onto the bottom of the oven that will burn every time you turn it on until the next cleaning. Smoke is never pleasant in the kitchen, so it’s always a good idea to have an exhaust hood above the stove that is vented to the outdoors. It will help keep the air in the kitchen clean from smoke and grease as well, making the it a little cleaner and breathing a little easier.

Spring is still a few weeks in central New York, so your kitchen will be bottled up for a while longer. For more helpful tips in keeping your kitchen safe and healthy for the whole family, give Fahy Kitchens and Baths a call today.

Kevin Fahy Kitchens and Baths is located at 1908 Oriskany Street West in Utica, NY. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are appreciated. For more information, call (315) 735-8181.