Air Purifiers for Wildfire Smoke

Should you worry about wildfire smoke? The recent wildfires in California have caused concerns about air quality. We’ll present a detailed look at what you can do to maintain excellent air-quality in your home.

Wildfires spread across California, destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of land and more than 25,000 homes. The fires took lives and homes and also left something behind. For where there is fire, there is also smoke. Residents in the ravaged area are concerned about air pollution, like carbon monoxide and ash particles, in smoke. These harmful particles are likely to circulate for months following large fires.

Is Wildfire Smoke Dangerous?

We know that particulate pollution can be harmful to health, but an EPA guide on dealing with wildfire smoke states that most healthy people recover quickly from short-term smoke exposure and are not likely to long-term health effects. Some vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with asthma or cardiovascular disease, are more likely to suffer health problems.

If you or your loved ones are vulnerable to respiratory complications like asthma and allergies, you may be wondering how you can reduce the risk health of problems from smoke exposure.

Why Indoor Air Pollution Matters

Particle pollution tends to be more concentrated indoors. The pets, furniture, textiles, and other materials in our homes can trap dust and smoke particles. Most homes are not very well ventilated, especially in colder weather.

We spend most of our time indoors. For example, most of us spend between seven and ten uninterrupted hours in our bedrooms each day. It’s easy to forget how much time we spend at home each day because we sleep through most of it.

We know that particle air pollution is often worse indoors and that we spend a good portion of our time at home, so it stands to reason that most people could benefit from an indoor air purifier. This is especially true for those who live in large cities and in regions affected by forest fires.

Ways to Reduce Wildfire Smoke Exposure

Before purifying the air inside your home, it’s important to reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends the following:

Stay indoors – Most buildings limit the amount of smoke coming in from outdoors, and newer buildings with air conditioning tend to be more airtight. It’s also helpful to close windows and doors to reduce the flow of air into the building.
Reduce activity – Exercise causes air to enter the lungs more deeply and in higher volumes than during normal activity, which increases the damage from air pollution. Try to reduce your physical activity during periods of high pollution.
Reduce other sources of air pollution – Many of our regular indoor activities generate pollutants like those found in wildfire smoke. To reduce particle levels in your home, avoid smoking, using (gas and wood-burning) stoves and furnaces, spraying aerosols, frying or broiling meat, burning candles and incense, and vacuuming (except if done with a HEPA-filter equipped vacuum.)
Use air conditioners and filters – Setting air conditioning systems to circulate indoor air will reduce particle levels in your home, especially if the air conditioner has a built-in filter. The EPA also recommends air purifiers with HEPA-certified filtering devices to reduce indoor air pollution

For more FAQ’s and recommendations regarding exposure to wildfire smoke, see this helpful page by the University of Washington. With these recommendations in mind, let’s go into some more detail about HEPA filters how they can help minimize wildfire smoke exposure.

HEPA Filters

Using a HEPA-certified indoor air purifier or an electrostatic precipitator is a popular and effective way to reduce air pollution in your home. This article will explain more about the different types of air purifiers available, and how they work.

HEPA-certified filters are highly recommended because they are required to meet government efficiency standards and remove at least 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 microns in size or larger. For reference, the naked human eye can only see particles of 10 microns or larger. Wildfire smoke particles range from 0.4 to 0.7 microns, making HEPA filters great for filtering air pollution.

Be sure that your air purifier is HEPA-certified to and meets established efficiency standards. It’s also important to choose the right size filter for each room. Measure the cubic footage of the room and check the purifier’s capacity (cubic feet of air filtered per minute) in the product specifications.

Beware of Ozone

The Environmental Protection Agency warns about air purifiers that claim to generate ozone. These are sometimes called ozone generators, “super-oxygen” purifiers, and “pure air” generators. These devices are called “air cleaners” but may do more harm than good.

Ozone is only effective in disinfecting and sterilizing water and air when used in high quantities. It irritates living cells and can damage respiratory organs, making it very dangerous. On top of that, ozone does not remove particles from the air but can react with them to form harmful byproducts. No one–especially people suffering from respiratory complications, should inhale ozone. Devices that generate ozone do not clean the air and can be harmful.

Be sure to stay away from air purifiers and other equipment that produces ozone, especially when air pollution is higher than normal. For a list of certified air cleaners that are certified in California and produce little to no ozone, click here.

Other Wildfire Smoke Advice

Humidifiers may help reduce eye, nose, and throat irritation from wildfire smoke exposure, though there are no conclusive studies on their effects.

Certain types of breathing masks and respirators can reduce the number of harmful air pollution particles the user inhales. The U.S. EPA suggests that members of the public use masks or respiratory devices with a protection level of N95 or higher. Devices rated as P100 are also popular and capture at least 99.97 percent of very small particles.

Look for a respirator with a NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) label and an N95 or P100 designation. N95 respirators may be better for use in wildfire smoke conditions, as they are less expensive and less resistant to airflow than P100 respirators.

Respirators should always be tight-fitting and create a seal around the mouth and nose. Air leakage around the nose and mouth can allow particles to enter the mask. Test the respirator to be sure that it fits properly and will be effective.