Holiday Cooking, VOCS, and Our Go-To Holiday Recipes

The holiday season fills our homes with the mouth-watering aromas of turkey, stuffing, freshly baked cookies, and other culinary delights, marking the joy of celebration! Yet, beneath these delicious scents, something less festive often lingers: harmful volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, that can lower your home's air quality and affect your health.

Thankfully, there’s a simple fix to keep your indoor air fresher and healthier, as well as kicking out harmful VOCs: changing your HVAC air filter regularly and using a carbon filter.

VOCs: The Invisible Holiday Party Crashers

What exactly are VOCs? VOCs are gases released from certain solids or liquids, often without any noticeable scent. Every time you fry spices, roast meats, or bake holiday treats, you’re releasing more than just delightful aromas—VOCs can be released into your home’s air as well. These invisible gases include chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene, and acetone, which can accumulate indoors and contribute to symptoms like headaches, dizziness, or respiratory irritation, especially with frequent exposure.

How to Minimize VOCs While Cooking

Holiday cooking can create both mouth-watering aromas and hidden VOCs, but there are easy ways to keep these invisible intruders in check! Here’s how you can keep your kitchen healthier, fresher, and safer for everyone gathered around.

1. Ventilation is Key

Turn on your range hood, open windows, and use fans while cooking to boost airflow and push VOCs out of your home. Range hoods, especially those that vent outside, are powerful tools in pulling pollutants away from your kitchen before they spread. If you don’t have a range hood, consider using a countertop fan or even a bathroom exhaust fan to help direct air out of the kitchen.

2. Experiment with Cooking Methods

Did you know the cooking method you choose affects VOC levels? Opt for steaming, slow cooking, or simmering to produce fewer emissions, while high-heat methods like frying and grilling are likely to release more VOCs. Rotating in lower-heat recipes during your holiday cooking can help you serve up delicious dishes without filling your home with unwanted pollutants.

3. The Power of Fresh Air

After cooking, let your home breathe. Even just 10-15 minutes of open windows or doors can refresh your indoor air, bringing in clean air and clearing out the lingering smoke or VOCs. This is especially helpful if you’re cooking with ingredients that tend to produce strong odors or fumes, like garlic or cooking oils.

4. Keep Surfaces Clean

Cleaning up grease and food particles right after cooking prevents odors and VOCs from re-entering the air when reheated. Wipe down surfaces, clean stove grates, and make sure any accumulated grime is scrubbed away. Not only does this improve air quality, but it also keeps your kitchen holiday-ready for the next meal!

5. Add a Layer of Protection with the Right Air Filter

Beyond ventilation, upgrading to a specialized air filter can add extra VOC protection. A filter equipped with activated carbon is designed to trap odors, pollutants and harmful VOCs. A high-quality filter like this helps circulate fresh air through your HVAC system, so every room stays smelling fresh.

Get Rid of VOCs with the Odor Eliminator

This holiday season, keep your home smelling fresh and your indoor air healthy with the Odor Eliminator—a powerhouse charcoal filter that captures not only odors and VOCs but also up to 90% of airborne pollutants. Made from American-sourced activated carbon, this filter neutralizes cooking smells, pet odors, smoke, and other household scents, giving you peace of mind along with a fresher home environment.

Here’s why our customers rely on the FilterBuy Odor Eliminator to maintain a clean-smelling, safe home:

Superior Odor & VOC Control: The activated charcoal in our filters is specially designed to capture VOCs from cooking, cleaning products, scented candles, and other sources, keeping your indoor air pure and pleasant.
High-Efficiency Filtration: With the same filtration level as our popular MERV 8 filters (comparable to MPR 600 & FPR 5), these filters remove 90% of airborne particles, including dust, lint, mold, dander, pollen, and bacteria.
Long-Lasting Performance: Built with durable, pleated media and a reinforced wire backing, these filters resist moisture and heat for structural integrity, lasting 3 times longer than standard fiberglass filters. Designed for a 3-month lifespan, they ensure sustained performance through the season.
Eco-Friendly & Safe: Manufactured 100% in the U.S. from recyclable materials, FilterBuy’s Odor Eliminator is a safer choice for your family, free from fiberglass, and built to handle high humidity and heat without warping.

Learn more about Filterbuy Odor Eliminator filters

Perfect for Every Home

Our Odor Eliminator is ideal for households with daily cooking, pets, strong cleaning products, or a love for scented candles. Its electrostatically charged media traps microscopic particles as small as 0.3 microns, neutralizing odor-causing agents and pollutants. Whether it’s holiday cooking or everyday odors, this filter helps prevent mold, mildew, and other particles that can degrade air quality over time.

Why Choose FilterBuy’s Charcoal Air Filter?

“I’ve ordered the Odor Eliminator filters twice—they’re perfect for cooking odors, and I love that I can buy in bulk to save. Great quality!” – FilterBuy Customer

With hundreds of available sizes, FilterBuy’s charcoal filters deliver unmatched quality and convenience. Each filter is built with an industrial-strength beverage board frame to withstand any environment. Dual wire mesh and an electrostatically charged surface ensure that every filter holds its shape and captures particles efficiently.

FilterBuy charcoal filters are the smart choice for anyone wanting to reduce VOCs, keep household air fresh, and enjoy the cleanest environment possible during the holidays and beyond. Keep a steady supply on hand with our convenient auto-delivery option, so you can replace your filters every 90 days and maintain optimal air quality year-round.

Cook With Our Favorite Holiday Recipes

Ready to cook VOC-free? If you’re anything like the FilterBuy team, you love to cook as much as you love to eat! Here are some of our team’s favorite festive recipes, perfect for filling your home with delicious aromas and heartwarming memories.

Happy cooking, and here’s to a festive season filled with fresh air and flavorful dishes!