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

But surely you mitigate the risk of being hit by a car by teaching them road safety and reduce the risk of obesity by teaching them about healthy living? Why would you not mitigate the risk of smoke inhalation by not burning stuff in your home?

Exactly. I sympathise with people living so rurally that their options are genuinely limited. In that case, it could make sense to trade the evidenced risk of wood burners to your health and the environment against the real constraints you have in finding a healthier alternative.

For most people, though, that is not the case, and it's better they have this information so they can be properly informed on how to look after their health and that of their children and neighbours.

We have open fires and a wood burner as did my parents, grandparents and great grandparents. I don’t think this is a huge “risk” and would be more focused on exercise and outside time for lung health myself.

They're just the funders, they didn't carry out the actual research.

Yes but the cleaner air is outside and the wood burner is inside so unless you are keeping doors and windows open to increase airflow which would defeat the purpose then its an irrelevant point.

Of course you are entitled to cary on as you see fit. The op is just raising awareness.

In numbers terms, the number of children negatively impacted by being driven to school when they could walk/scoot/cycle is going to be massively higher than the number of children being negatively impacted by living in a home with a wood burner.

We live in an area with no gas. We have an oil fired boiler and wood burners for heating. The emissions from the oil boiler absolutely stink, really really worryingly gross. I deliberately use it less and wood burners more....Hobson's Choice maybe? But comparing me to a parent that smokes tobacco with their dc in the car is frankly mad.

This.

I think the smoking analogy is good - it did take decades for people to accept the evidence - it will take a new generation because too many older people are too set in their ways and know best

The British Lung Foundation advises against coal fires and wood burners for anyone with any type of lung issues, including asthma. Smoke from heating wood enters neighbouring homes too

https://www.asthmaandlung.org.uk/sites/default/files/Indoor%20air%20pollution%20downloadable%20PDF.pdf

Three years ago we replaced our open fire. We read up on everything and in the end went for an expensive( cast iron) electric fire. It was the worst decision we ever made. Looks good but I miss the real thing so this year I am going to be really naughty and invest in a wood burner. Yes I care about the environment but
Im afraid my well being as Insee it out bids the environmental impact I will have.
I will only be using seasoned wood and it will not be used every day.
I’m expecting lots of negative posts.

I find it so weird when some says "this thing is bad for your health" people come out and say "but this other thing is worse"... two things can be bad... two things can be avoided / changed.

Yes, the answer is to ignore scaremongering and to check what is actually being said. Statistics are dangerous weapons when offered to people who do not understand how statistics work.

It is indeed a small study with a novel research method.

But there are many studies to back up the premise that wood burning stoves, even eco design ones with seasoned wood, release a significant volume of PM2.5 particulates into the home and into the immediate local area.

The sciences that PM2.5 particulates are a significant health risk (miscarriage, low birth rates, dementia, asthma and cancer in particular) is very well established and the risks are particularly significant during pregnancy and childhood.

Yes humans have been having fires for millennia. They also tended to die quite young by the standards we might hope for today

In most cases, using a stove is a choice. It might be more expensive or less cosy or more inconvenient to use something else but it is possible. And I would prioritise my health and my children's health (and my neighbours) over that.

Why post it? Because when wood burning stoves are discussed, the psychology of denial of the risks is fascinating and there are various studies on that like this one; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522002427#:~:text=This%20soundness%20had%20to%20do,et%20al.%2C%202013).

But mostly I posted it because a poster above said they didn't know about the risks and will look into it more and consider changing their behaviour or plans and two others have messaged me directly saying something similar.

And I hope others also look at and consider that although it might be uncomfortable to accept or inconvenient, that they and their children and their neighbours will have a lower risk of serious health impacts by not putting the stove on .

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/12/1326

https://eeb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Where-theres-fire-theres-smoke_domestic-heating-study_2021.pdf

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2024/woodburning-creates-major-pm2.5-air-pollution-issue-in-west-midlands

https://www.islington.gov.uk/-/media/sharepoint-lists/public-records/environmentalprotection/information/adviceandinformation/20222023/mapping-solid-fuel-hotspots.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393263889_Particulate_matter_exposure_from_different_heating_stoves_and_fuels_in_UK_homes

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/air-pollution-and-mental-health

https://www.dsawsp.org/health/particle-pollution

Air quality is feckin awful around our house now. DH is now ill all the time.

We've got people who's entire life seems to revolve around their woodburner(s) and chopping wood endlessly. It's a bloody obsession. They bed them in overnight too and so the air is never clean now. It's a small town, it shouldn't be this bad. It's much, much worse than it used to be and we now run air filters the whole time. Everyone else is moaning about colds that never go away, no-one joins the dots. There was a reason for the clean air Acts in the '50s.

#cleanairmatters

Increasing numbers of stories about the dangers of wood burning stoves
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjdne9ke0m1o
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c07xlrvz3emo
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g07pmg08zo
I think it will be Local Authorities that end up banning them in their areas.

I said comparing it to hot boxing children in a car was silly.

We live rurally and off grid. Pretty much everyone in this village has a woodburner. It’s essential for people like us.

Where do you think the power for those other forms of heat comes from? It’s not made of unicorn farts and fairy dust.

The particulate matter shed by car tyres is a serious concern. This remains the case with electric cars.

Well done @MojoMoon for highlighting the dangers! I think they will eventually be banned but it will happen area by area to start with.

It’s not essential

it is a choice based on cost

I admit the cost of alternatives might be substantial but it’s still a trade off you are making

This is a point that is often missed. For rural communities where energy grid connectivity can be poor, wood burners are one of the few alternatives available.

But your physical wellbeing is at much greater risk by having it. As is the health of anyone in your house or near neighbours.

The "environment" in the sense of climate change caused by carbon dioxide levels is not the concern here. It is highly localised air pollution. Not climate change.

Smoking does not cause climate change. Wood burning when you really don't need to is the same thing - it's the fine carcinogenic particulates that you inhale in your home.

Your well-being may well be improved by having a woodburner, your neighbours in the fume plume will be negatively impacted.

Selfish choices for the individual = overall reduction in health for your neighbours.

Yes and we need to address all problem over time

it looks like wood burners are a big problem that have a clear impact and that can be avoided

I also appreciate that the log burner offers us resilience against things like power cuts. We were recently without water for over a week and were very glad of the water butts for things like flushing. The log burner means we can be warm when there is no power, or the boiler breaks. But I wouldn't want it to be our main source of heat, it's an occasional nice to have.