Rotting Potatoes Mean Bad Air

If you open a cellar or confined storage space and get hit by the stench of rotting potatoes, do not go in casually. Safety guidance warns that stored potatoes release carbon dioxide, and in a sealed or poorly ventilated space that gas can build up, push out oxygen, and turn the air deadly even before you realize what is happening. That is why a foul potato smell in a basement, cellar, or storage room is more than just disgusting. In the wrong space, it can be a warning that the air itself is no longer safe to breathe.

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