To say don't use a wood burner if you have children in the house?

[MojoMoon]

AIBU to say anyone using a wood burning stove with children in the house when it is for cosy vibes and other forms of heating are available should be viewed the same way as someone smoking with children in the room or the car?

Particulate pollution has been linked to miscarriage, low birth weight, respiratory problems and a higher risk of developing dementia.

Why do wood burning defenders respond so vigorously to studies like this? Is it because they have spent money on a wood burning stove and don't want to accept that they should remove it? Is it because they have a feeling of guilt about having been using it with children for years and worry about the damage already done? Or do they simply not believe particulates to be dangerous despite all the scientific evidence to the contrary.

Study:

Children living in homes with wood burners could be exposed to over three times more particulate pollution than those in non-wood-burning homes. The results come from a study that looked at air pollution experienced by primary schoolchildren in Wales.

Fifty-three children from two primary schools in Anglesey (Ynys Môn) were given backpacks equipped with air pollution sensors. They took the packs home and carried them during their journeys to and from school.
Dr Hanbin Zhang, from the University of Exeter and part of the study team, said: “One thing that stood out was the home environment. This was the largest contributor to children’s daily particle pollution exposure – more than school or commuting. This was mainly due to indoor sources such as wood burning and indoor smoking.”

Short peaks in particle pollution were linked to home cooking and secondhand tobacco smoke. Home heating with a fire or stove was linked to longer exposures. In some cases, these persisted overnight in children’s bedrooms as fires remained lit or smouldering with poor ventilation.
Prof Zhiwen Luo from Cardiff University, who led the study said: “During home hours, the average particle pollution in non-smoking homes with wood burners was about 13 micrograms per cubic metre compared with 3.5 micrograms per cubic metre in non-smoking homes without wood burners.
“The study is small, but the contrast was consistent and supports the conclusion that wood burning can substantially increase indoor particle pollution.”
One school was in Holyhead, and the other was in a rural area. We often think of towns and cities are being the most polluted places, but on average, researchers found urban children experienced less particle pollution, compared with those at the rural school.
The study took place in winter, and researchers attributed these differences to contrasts in wood burning. This took place in 21% of homes for the urban schoolchildren and 53% in the rural school.

Cooking added to the measured air pollution, especially when the backpacks were left close to the kitchen in the children’s homes. Short pollution peaks were also measured when children walked past bakeries and restaurants on the high street.

Particle pollution inside the schools was much lower than during travel and at home.

Children who walked to and from school experienced less pollution compared with children who were driven. Parental smoking while driving produced the highest concentrations measured in the study.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/06/children-living-homes-wood-burners-exposed-pollution?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479725042677?via%3Dihub

I'd rather drink my own vomit than read the Daily Mail.

Ew. That seems quite an extreme respons.

What air tester do you have?

Thanks. And does this happen with open fires too or is it only with woodburners?
I have a woodburner so am interested in what you've explained.

What would a similar study have found 40
years ago when smoking was much more prevalent and open fires burning wetter wood and smoky coal were the norm, and central heating was only becoming normal with many homes not having it or using less efficient oil boilers?

wood burning stoves and modern kiln dried wood have far far fewer particulates and smoke released than the older forms of open fires, and also retain much more heat in the home so are a lot more efficient. And wood is a renewable fuel source rather than gas or oil for central heating boilers. As well as being a very useful backup source of heat for when there is no electricity and the boiler won’t work because of that.

It should be "Don't use a wood burner unless you have no other heating and no neighbours".

The risks to the community air quality generally from the particulates pumped out of the chimney are well established. But people seem incapable of caring about anyone outside their household so it's come down to a debate of indoor air quality. It doesn't surprise me though and it's easy to measure.

Nobody wants to face the fact they wasted £1000's having one put in their suburban home. It is just like it took over a generation to be convinced of the danger of smoking.

I live in an area where some people still receive a coal pension. Imagine that would blow your mind!

If we banned diesel vehicles from cities, how would we get anything delivered to restaurants and shops? We need decent alternatives onto diesel HGVs first.

Backup power/heat sources are essential for rural areas, currently. Going forward, diverse energy sources also seem sensible. Given global energy supply pressures.

Loads of them died of asthma and bronchitis 🙄

I've not lived in a house with an open fire since childhood so I'm no expert, but I'd guess not, or to a lesser extent, as it's not enclosed? It's the heat of the actual wood burner unit that causes the secondary combustion effect. Observed from outside, there shouldn't really be visible smoke coming from the chimney then.

Are they using predominantly coal in Wales?

Those numbers mean the air quality is excellent. I have the monitor because I need it for work, but they’re easy to buy and cost about £80 for a good one.

I don't disagree with you and am aware of that, which is why I wrote that it was not necessarily a good thing. People had no alternative and knew no different but the vast majority lived well and many are still alive and enjoying a healthy old age. My point is that it is impossible to eliminate all risks and still have a good quality of life. In fifty years' time, people will probably be horrified at many of the things we consider normal today and log burners may not make the list.

For me the real question is using processed wood pellets from waste wood better than that waste wood going straight to an industrial incinerator.

Ok, thank you.
Yes, I've purposely stood outside our house to look at the chimney when our log burner is on, multiple times in fact, and I cannot see any smoke coming out of our chimney. So what you've explained helps me to understand.
We have a new DEFRA approved eco log burner and use kiln dried wood only. I know some advice states that even these are still not safe. But when people talk about smoke billowing from chimneys, or even worse the smell of smoke or burning wood in the actual room, I can't relate to this. We have no chimney smoke. And absolutely zero smoke or smell of burning of any kind in our lounge where the burner is or anywhere in our house. Even when I open the door to add more wood, no smoke escapes; the wood is on fire but it is not smoking.
Conversely, my next door neighbour has an old wood burner, not DEFEA approved, works as a carpenter, and brings loads of wood panels, skirting boards, doors, etc. home in his van and cuts it all up to burn. His wife is forever going on about how brilliant it is that they never have to pay for their wood, and their chimney billows out dark grey smoke every evening, and smells terrible.

These posts are so wearisome. I’ve two wood burners, both defra approved modern ones, I use seasoned wood and I’ve hepa filter air purifiers by each air in my house is likely cleaner than yours and what’s outside. The only time particles come in the room is when I open the door to load it, at which point the air purifiers immediately ramp up and remove it. The door isn’t opened much as I know how fk use them.

honeslty just so wearisome.

Unfortunately it's people like your neighbour giving the rest of us a bad name, and risking a ban.

You sound like you're doing everything right though.

My two nearest neighbours actually burn coal, but tbf we're very spread out and unless they completely renovated, or freeze, they have little choice really. But even they mostly produce whiteish smoke.

Lack of visible smoke does not mean toxic particles are not being emitted, just that you can't see them. Modern eco burners are more efficient but still produce fine particles (pm 2.5) carbon monoxide, benzene, nitrogen oxides etc.
Secondary combustion does occur but only once the first logs have burned and have reached a high enough temperature.

I’m in Yorkshire and lots of coal use due to coal pensions.

Not really. It is the Daily Mail after all.

And they did slag off a friend of mine in their despicable rag once.

Yes that's what I said - once the wood burner is hot.

I'm in a very remote rural area anyway so I'll continue to enjoy mine guilty free, especially wity the evidence of very clean air all around me in the form of mosses and lichens.

How did you air test pls? I’d like to do this

I have an air quality monitor, 4 metres from my wood burning and if the door is closed then it doesn't register any changes in PM2.5.

It does however show an increase in PM2.5 when the gas central comes on at 6am with the heat causing household dust to rise.

I do think dome people think anyone with a wood burner is just clueless and some are, there are clueless people everywhere, but many of us burn seasoned wood, ensure the seals on our stoves are optional, monitor air quality and use purifiers, so no exactly what we are dealing with, my air is clean. I’ve expensive units in each room that monitor and ensure it, there is also minimal smoke from the chimney, nothing can be smelled and it’s very pale coloured, almost white and I live semi rurally, I have kids in the house regularly and raised my own with them,

compare that with a couple I know who can’t afford to heat their home properly and their clothes smell of damp in winter, and sadly so does their babies, then a fire is much better than the condensation dampness as a living condition. And that’s before we get into the issues of air quality in electricity and gas production for central heating, or trains, cars, trucks etc.

wood burners managed correctly are the least of the issues.

I get more joy out of a wood burner of an evening than the central heating.
This has value too.