Kitchen Appliances & Overloaded Ozone Levels
According to a recent Buzzfeed article written by Dino Grandoni, California health officials are worried about the ozone levels in household kitchens. The main suspect? Household appliances. Kitchen appliances like veggie washers or that facial steamer in the bathroom could be overloading homes with harmful levels of ozone.
At high levels, ozone can become a lung irritant. Some seemingly harmless gadgets in bathrooms, laundries, and kitchens that are mainly produced by small manufacturers have been shown to discharge ozone levels that regulators consider damaging to home residents. The findings reveal a significant gap in consumer safety. Especially when the public hears “ozone” and misunderstands the risks.
We’ve all heard of the Ozone Layer. As a mantle of gas located far above us in Earth’s atmosphere, the Ozone Layer serves as a barrier against solar radiation. But when trapped at ground level, ozone becomes a main factor in air pollution like smog. It is known to aggravate asthma and contribute to breathing and heart ailments.
Ozone As A Marketing Buzz Word
Manufacturers often use the concept of ozone as a selling point. They tout it as a healthy alternative to other household or personal cleaning products. But some scientists say the health and cleaning benefits of these products, kitchen appliances and other household gadgets don’t exist. Instead, researchers in California discovered that products like certain laundry cleaning systems increase concentrations of ozone within the home. In some cases those levels would earn the state’s “Stage Two” smog alert, a warning not seen since 1988.
The logic that some manufacturers follow-that since ozone is what Nature uses to cleanse the air, ozone is a safe household appliance product- is something many scientists strongly dispute. Since its beginning in the 1970’s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has striven for the reduction of ozone levels in cities across the nation. They’ve had a great deal of success. But the EPA’s influence can only do so much. They can vigorously recommend that people avoid buying products such as ozone-generating air cleaners or household appliances, for example. But the EPA does not have the regulatory power to prevent sales of household or kitchen appliances and products that produce high ozone levels.
As with the EPA, the majority of state level environmental protection agencies on the state level lack sufficient authority. To date, only California has forbidden sales of ozone-emitting air purifiers, doing so not long after Sharper Image settled a class-action lawsuit regarding air cleaners that produce ozone. The lawsuit gave a lot of major manufacturers pause, many of which stopped releasing kitchen appliances and other household appliances and products designed to emit ozone.
Even so, products that emit ozone –many manufactured overseas- continue to be advertised on Amazon and other online shopping markets. “Let the buyer beware” is as relevant today as it has ever been.
Your Household & Kitchen Appliances Are Safe With A DiChristopher
Don and Alison DiChristopher have run A DiChristopher Appliance Service since 1992, and take pride in its reputation as a locally owned and locally caring Tampa Bay area business. Whether you need refrigerator repair, stove repair or washer/dryer repair, A DiChristopher does that and more. They have been an Angie’s List Super Service Award Winner Since 2004. A reputation for honesty and reliability is their recipe for success.
If you have questions about the safety of your kitchen appliances or any of your household appliances, call (813) 961-1188.
Learn more at A DiChristopher Appliance Service’s Home Page.