The effect of poor indoor air quality on individuals spending so much time indoors can be detrimental as poor quality indoor air aggravates respiratory ailments. In the United States alone, the incidence of asthma has increased dramatically over the last 25 years. An estimated 23.2 million Americans suffer from the ailment, including almost 9 million under the age of 18. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), asthma is the seventh-ranked chronic health condition in the United States and the leading chronic illness of children, making their airways (bronchial tubes) particularly sensitive to irritants.

Poor air quality is suspected to be a main culprit in the rise of respiratory ailments over the past two decades. One strategy to improve indoor air quality, according to the EPA, is to make ventilation improvements to your home. Introducing mechanical ventilation that exhausts outdoors, such as a kitchen range hood, can remove contaminants and increase the outdoor air ventilation rate.

According to Broan-NuTone, a leading home ventilation products manufacturer, cooking emits more airborne contaminants than almost anything else in the home. Cooking smoke and greasy build-up are more than unpleasant, they’re unhealthy too. Properly ventilating a kitchen can remove particles, gasses, grease and excess moisture that can aggravate illnesses and lead to mold, mildew, damaged cabinets and dirty fixtures.

Broan and NuTone Allure range hoods could be a solution for homeowners looking to improve their kitchen ventilation situation. Available at your local home center, the Broan and NuTone range hoods can be ducted to the outside and come standard with several convenient features designed to make life easy for homeowners.

Broan’s and NuTone’s Allure range hoods are more than 50 percent quieter than previous models, have easy-to-clean features and provides superior lighting and efficient performance. A completely enclosed bottom with full dishwasher-safe filters, a DuPont Teflon non-stick surface for easy cleaning and two halogen floodlights complete the package. “Having a range hood that ‘does the job’ was also high on consumers’ list of desires,” says Brian Wellnitz, range hood product manager for Broan-NuTone. “The range hood provides efficient and effective smoke removal capability under all cooking conditions.”

For more information about this product, please call (800) 558-1711 or visit www.broan.com or www.nutone.com.