Wood stoves and infants?

Hey Fellas, my wife and I are expecting our little girl by December 2 and are wondering about wood heating with her being an infant. I currently heat 100% with wood heat but I do have a propane furnace. My wife is concerned about the dust from heating with wood hurting her lungs or respiratory system, should this be a concern of ours? Once she gets a little older, say after the first month or two we are not too worried but still want to make sure. What are your guys thoughts on having a new born exposed to wood heating?

 

I was.

 

Had 2 kids, 1st had a wood furnace, 2nd wood stove. Both are fine. With wood stoves as tight as they are, there is very little worry about ash getting airborne. Keep the wood outside until ready to burn. The biggest thing that bothers little ones is if it gets too dry in the house. That is easily remedied with a vaporizer/diffuser/humidifier, or don't turn on your fan when you take a shower and let the moisture out into the house after taking a shower. Our kids were actually healthier because the house was warmer! Kids kick off their covers at night and then freeze, not when it's 72-75 in the house because of the wood heat.

Fwiw, I noticed more dust from the furnace blower than wood stove. That being said, just watch out for allergies. Some times people get irritated for some reason. I have allergies to dust, wood dust and I'm not bothered.

 

First off congratulations! On to the stove.... Yes it can be harmful. So can many things. If you don't want to run the stove for a bit I wouldn't blame you. Good news, propane is relatively cheap. I don't have that option so I plan on trying to keep smoke spillage to a minimum (always do anyways) & run an air purifier.

 

Thanks gazer! I'd really like to heat with the stove, just curious if anyone has heard of or read any significant data against wood heating and infants. I'm sure it's not ideal but we can't put them in a bubble either. I'm not normally a worrier like this, I got my first flu shot of my life this year though bc our daughter will be too young to get one or fight off the virus when she's born during the peak of flu season. I just want to know what you guys think about it.

 

I have heard that fireplaces can eventually supposedly cause asthma, but no such issue with wood stoves, due to them being enclosed.

 

That makes sense. Makes me feel a little better

 

My wife found this article:
Respiratory Hazards of Wood Stoves
Much of it seems to be far fetched and a little dated/not accurate.
My thoughts are it is really a trial and error basis. Similar to having pets, they could be sensitive to the dust of a stove or it may not bother them at all. Only way to tell is to see how they react.

 

Interesting article... this section seems to pinpoint the real concern.

"Burning wood, hot and fast to cut down on the emission seems to be the only answer at present. Some people have suggested that an internal catalytic converter be built into each residential wood burning stove."

If you can keep the smoke and ash out. You are golden. I'm happy to see that you are concerned for your little ones safety. Blessings on a safe labor and an early Christmas gift!

 

Thanks freeburn! This is our first child so we are very excited and nervous at the same time.

 

I understand. We have 4 now and they are quite resilient little buggers. If you sterilize them too much, they won't develop those good immunities and then you run into problems later on. Nothin a hand full of dirt can't cure. Ha ha. Relax and enjoy the ride, laugh, smile and try not to take things too seriously. Enjoy every moment, those early years go by so fast.

 

Here's a write up from Washington state.

https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/publications/91br023.pdf

 

All true. Especially the last part!

 

Just read that article. Intersting how it focuses on the smoke rather than it does the ash dust. Depending on the area that you live I can see how a hilly or mountaineous region can retain the smoke emitted more than a flat or higher elevation area. Here in the Midwest it is very flat and windy so smoke saturation from stove burning is not a concern. Good information and makes me further think that my current setup will be just fine.

 

That's the one question that hasn't been answered. What is your current stove model? How old?

 

It's in his sig line. Quadrafire isle royale.

 

We did. and do. Pediatrician never said a thing about it. I try not to get as in the air when I clean the stove out every few days but that's impossible as well as try to keep smoke down to a minimum. And we'll other than that the stove is air tight well it sucksin not puts air out of it. It will sucksin air in through any hole in the door or anywhere there may be one.

 

Congratulations! Be safe, and good luck!

In my experience (as long as you have a tight house/stove) the worst problem is that it can get too hot for the little one. Especially at night (we have the bedrooms on the 2. floor).

Also when they get older, you might need some way of keeping them off of the hot stove.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! I hope the delivery goes well. One of our members loaded his stove before they left to have a baby and was able to re-light from the coals 54 hours later when they got home. Both of my children have lived with the wood stove. There is little to worry about. I taught them right away to stay away. We have a raised hearth around the wood stove, one brick high. That was the boundary. They will learn if you teach them. My uncle always reminded me of the Native American mother who would take the toddlers up to the fire in the tent and get their hands almost to fire to teach them, "HOT." The real concern for us is the stack of wood falling over onto them. It happened once when my son was playing legos near the wood stack inside the house. I was able to shield him from the majority of it falling on him with my body, but that is more harmful than a slight burn they might acquire touching the stove or the limited amount of ash in the air. Now, if you are outside breathing in the smoke all the time, that is a different story.

Have fun and look forward to a wood helper.