Can You Get Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from a Gas Stove?

Yes, you can get carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning from a gas stove — especially if it’s poorly maintained, improperly ventilated, or used incorrectly. Although gas stoves are common in many households and typically safe when functioning properly, they do produce small amounts of carbon monoxide as a byproduct of fuel combustion. When this gas builds up indoors due to blocked vents, faulty burners, or lack of airflow, it can reach dangerous levels without any visible warning, since carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless.

Understanding how and when a gas stove can release CO is essential for protecting yourself and your family. In this article, we’ll explain how carbon monoxide forms during stove operation, the early signs of poisoning, how to recognize unsafe conditions, and what preventive measures — like ventilation, maintenance, and CO detectors — can completely eliminate this risk from your kitchen.

How Gas Stoves Could Produce CO — And When

Regular Operation vs. Faulty or Poor Ventilation

• In ideal conditions, a properly adjusted gas stove burns the fuel (e.g. natural gas, LPG) efficiently, converting carbon mostly to carbon dioxide (CO₂). In that case, CO production is minimal.
• In suboptimal or malfunctioning situations — e.g. incomplete combustion, insufficient oxygen supply, gas burner misalignment, clogged burner ports, or venting problems — a stove may emit higher levels of CO.
• If a gas burner flame is weak, yellowish, flickering, or “sooty,” this is often a sign of incomplete combustion, which can correlate with more CO production.
• Many gas stoves do not have dedicated exhaust venting to the outdoors; combustion byproducts (including small amounts of CO) are released into the kitchen air, relying on general ventilation (windows, range hood, exhaust fan) to dilute them.
• Research suggests that in homes with gas stoves, even with proper adjustment, CO levels are somewhat elevated relative to homes without gas stoves; with poorly adjusted or non-vented stoves, CO levels can be significantly higher.

Thus, while a gas stove in good working order might produce only low levels of CO, certain conditions can push the emissions to harmful levels.

Using an Oven or Stove as a Heater

One particularly dangerous scenario is using a gas oven or stove (with the door open) to heat a home. This practice is strongly discouraged, as it can lead to elevated CO buildup. The CDC explicitly warns: “Using a gas oven to heat your home puts you and your family at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.”

Because that method effectively confines combustion within an enclosed space without proper exhaust, CO can accumulate rapidly.

Evidence and Reported Cases

• Some appliance safety sources and heating/ventilation experts assert that any appliance using gas fuel can produce CO, and if emissions are abundant or poorly vented, CO poisoning is a real risk.
• For example, one appliance repair site says: “Any appliance using gas fueling can produce carbon monoxide … an abundance … can poison the people … in your home.”
• A question on DIY forums notes that yes, CO can be produced by a kitchen stove, and references research showing mild CO poisoning from small camping stoves in enclosed spaces.
• According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) blog on gas stove risks: experts agree a malfunctioning stove can produce dangerous CO.
• Scientific reviews tend to focus more on nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and other pollutants from gas stoves, but CO is part of the emission profile.

While large-scale documented incidents specifically tied to gas stove CO poisoning are rare, the possibility is well recognized in safety literature.

Factors That Increase Risk

Here are the main factors that tip the balance from “low CO risk” to “dangerous CO risk” when using a gas stove:

1. Poor Combustion / Incomplete Burning

• Blocked burner ports or clogged gas lines
• Misalignment of the burner or defective parts
• Low oxygen supply or very tight enclosures

2. Lack of Ventilation

• No exhaust hood or fan
• Range hood recirculates rather than vents outdoors
• Closed windows, sealed rooms
• Use in small, poorly ventilated spaces

3. Prolonged Use

• Long cooking periods (especially with burners on high)
• Leaving stove burners on unattended

4. Using Stove/Oven as a Heat Source

• Opening oven door to heat room
• Running stove burners just to heat ambient air, not to cook

5. Appliance Malfunction / Aging

• Worn or deteriorated parts
• Hidden cracks in combustion chamber or gas lines
• Lack of maintenance

6. Multiple Fuel-Burning Appliances in Same Space

• Gas water heater, furnace, dryer in same area
• Shared exhaust flues

7. Vulnerable Individuals

• Infants, elderly, people with heart or respiratory conditions
• Chronic exposure over time

What CO Exposure Levels Mean (Approximate Guide)

From general toxicology sources (e.g. Wikipedia summary of CO poisoning):

These values are illustrative; real risk depends on duration, individual susceptibility, and combined exposures.

In homes, baseline CO is low (0.5–5 ppm), and with properly functioning gas stoves, many homes stay in the 5–15 ppm region. But around poorly adjusted stoves, levels can reach 30 ppm or more.

Chronic exposures to elevated but non-lethal CO over long periods may contribute to symptoms like persistent headaches, fatigue, memory problems, or cardiovascular stress, though the evidence is less concrete.

Can Gas Stove CO Exposure Be Poisoning?

Short answer: Yes — under the right (or rather, wrong) conditions, a gas stove can produce CO at levels high enough to cause poisoning. But in normal, well-maintained, well-ventilated kitchens, the risk is typically low.

Some caveats:

• Most gas stoves are not designed to be sealed systems; their exhaust is released into indoor air. So even “normal” emissions are a small additional background CO load.
• Poisoning is more likely when factors conspire: malfunction, poor ventilation, high usage, or misuse (e.g. heating via stove) — rather than in everyday brief cooking.
• Because CO is odorless, you might not notice it unless there is a CO detector or symptomatic warning.

Thus, while rare, gas-stove-induced CO poisoning is a real possibility, especially in poorly ventilated or defective installations.

Recognizing CO Poisoning from a Gas Stove

Because CO poisoning symptoms are nonspecific, you must maintain suspicion, especially if using gas appliances:

Common Symptoms

• Headache (often described as dull, aching)
• Dizziness, lightheadedness
• Weakness, fatigue
• Nausea or vomiting
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Confusion, difficulty concentrating
• Blurred vision
• Loss of consciousness

In extreme cases: seizures, arrhythmias, death.

If multiple people in the same household experience similar symptoms simultaneously (especially in a space with gas appliances), CO exposure should be suspected.

What to Do If You Suspect CO Poisoning

1. Evacuate immediately — get into fresh air.
2. Turn off the fuel source (if safe to do so).
3. Open windows and doors for ventilation.
4. Call emergency services / medical help.
5. Inform responders about possible CO exposure — in medical settings, they may measure COHb (carboxyhemoglobin) levels in blood.
6. Do not re-enter until cleared and the source is fixed.

Treatment often involves administering 100% oxygen; in serious cases hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be used.

Prevention: How to Reduce or Eliminate Risk

Here are practical steps to mitigate the risk:

1. Ventilation / Exhaust

• Use a range hood (with venting to outdoors, not recirculating) while cooking.
• Turn on exhaust fans, open windows.
• Cook with back burners (closer to hood).

2. Proper Installation, Adjustment, and Maintenance

• Hire qualified technicians for installation and inspection.
• Ensure burners are properly aligned and tuned.
• Clean burner ports and check for clogs.
• Annually service gas appliances.

3. Avoid Misuse

• Never use gas stoves/ovens to heat a space.
• Avoid leaving burners on unattended for long durations, especially in closed rooms.

4. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors / Alarms

• Install CO detectors on each level of home, preferably near sleeping areas.
• Test detectors regularly, change batteries as per manufacturer.
• Replace detectors per expiry date.

5. Be Alert to Signs

• Yellow, sooty flame or irregular flame shape may suggest incomplete combustion.
• Rust or soot buildup around appliance.
• Strange odors, unusual symptoms among household members (especially simultaneously).

6. Prompt Repair of Any Issues

• If a technician detects leaks, cracks, vent problems, repair them immediately.
• Ensure chimneys, flues, or exhaust ducts are clear and unobstructed.
• Avoid blocking vents or flues.

7. Consider Switching to Electric or Induction

• Electric or induction cooktops don’t burn fuel and thus don’t produce CO.
• Many health and safety advocates see electrification as a longer-term solution.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Gas stoves can produce carbon monoxide, especially under imperfect conditions (incomplete combustion, malfunction, poor ventilation).
• In typical, well-maintained kitchens, CO levels are low and generally pose minimal risk — but the danger becomes real when multiple adverse factors coincide.
• CO poisoning from a gas stove is less common than CO poisoning from heating systems, vehicles, or fireplaces, but it is entirely plausible.
• Because CO is odorless and symptoms are nonspecific, CO detectors are essential to alert you to dangerous levels.
• Preventive measures — good ventilation, maintenance, safe practices, and detectors — dramatically reduce the risk.