One worried caregiver turned to Reddit for advice when their husband, who had dementia, struggled to adjust to a gas stove in their new home.

They posted about the dilemma in a thread on r/dementia. 

"I'm the sole caregiver for my husband who has dementia," the original poster wrote. "We lost most of our possessions, outbuildings … and our home will soon be demolished, due to Helene flooding. We're living in a donated camper."

This would be a challenging situation for anyone, let alone someone struggling with dementia. However, it has become dangerous because of one factor.

"Typical of a camper, the kitchen has a gas cook stove," the original poster continued. "We had electric in our house, so gas is a new experience for him. And of course, learning new things is pretty much a no go."

Gas stoves are already unhealthy for you and your family, even if you know how to use them correctly. They increase your risk of asthma, not to mention generating heat-trapping air pollution that contributes to the world's worsening weather conditions due to the methane in their fuel.

The situation is much worse for someone who isn't able to learn the correct way to use the stove in the first place.

"He refuses to let me show him the correct way to use it, instead cooking with it in the 'light' position, which is where you normally set it to start, and then adjust it to the regular [cooking] level," the original poster wrote. "There's always an odor of gas when he does that and I'm paranoid of a bad result. 

"Tonight, again, he's trying to cook and I went in and just adjusted the flame on one burner but before I could get to the other one he had going, he literally blocked me physically and was screaming in my face to the point I had spit on my glasses," the poster added.

The original poster was at the end of their rope and looking for any way to address their safety concerns.

What would it take for you to get rid of your gas stove? I'd pay for it myself 💪 Give me the new stove for free 💸 I'd need at least $2K 💰 I already have an electric stove 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Luckily, there is a perfect solution for those who cannot safely use a gas stove. 

"Buy a separate one- or two-burner induction 'hot plate,'" one commenter wrote. "You'll have to use only certain pans, though, for induction."

Induction stoves are electric, so they use no gas at all and won't put any toxic fumes into the air in your home. Even better for the original poster's situation, they will only work with the correct style of pans, which react to the induction stovetop's magnets. Without those pans, nothing will heat up, including the stovetop itself. This makes it much harder to get burned while using the stove. 

While full-sized induction stovetops are available, small single or double induction burners that sit on your countertop are an affordable starter option. They even cook food faster than gas stoves!

If you're interested in an induction stove, now is the time to get one, since the Inflation Reduction Act offers up to $840 off your purchase. This incentive and many others will be ending at the end of 2025, so don't wait.

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