Closing the door to smoky skies: Improving indoor air doesn’t have to knock the wind out of you
Smoke-choked skies above a California on fire have rendered air quality unhealthy for weeks. In the Sacramento region, the sun has managed to peek out from the heavy haze of wildfires burning across the state, but maintaining and improving air quality indoors during this year’s destructive fire season remains a challenge.
But air quality experts and officials here in Northern California have tips and advice to keep the bad air out and indoor air as fresh as possible — everything from finding the right air filter to choosing which appliances to use to designating a clean air room in your home.
“The bottom line: Give yourself as many hours of clean air as possible,” said Brett Singer, leader of the Indoor Environment Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and an international expert on indoor air quality.
That means closing doors and windows, fireplace dampers and staying indoors as much as possible, Singer said, but those are only first steps. If your home has a forced-air heating and cooling system and can install a good filter, you can use that system to clean your whole home. Look for the filter’s MERV — or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value. A good filter would be a filter with a MERV rating of 13 or better, Singer said.
Many manufacturers use the MERV industry standard. Manufacturer 3M uses its MPR system. Honeywell uses its FPR standard. Look for a Honeywell FPR of 8-10, while an MPR of 2200 or better is preferred for 3M filters.
Forced-air systems are designed to move a lot of air. Recirculating the indoor air through good filters will remove those particulates from the air. A portable air cleaner can also help. A makeshift version can be fashioned by attaching a filter to the back of a box fan, Singer said.
Smaller spaces are better
Singer also recommends finding a smaller indoor space or room.
“If you can’t clean your whole home, create a clean air room,” he said.
Yolo and Solano counties have battled smoke and worse from the voracious LNU Lightning Complex that has devoured more than 363,000 acres and is now 97% contained. Stephanie Holliday of the Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District had a few recommendations:
▪ Keep windows and doors closed
▪ Change or replace air filters. HEPA — or High Efficiency Particulate Air — filters are most effective. HEPA filters can remove dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and the fine particulate matter carried in smoke.
▪ If your home has a whole house fan, don’t use it. The fan draws air in from outdoors. Rather, adjust your home’s ventilation system to “recirculate.”
▪ Limit dusting and vacuuming. That may seem counter-intuitive, but Holliday says though a vacuum picks up dust and debris, it can also release particulates into the air. For surfaces, clean by using a damp cloth to keep down dust, she said.
▪ Avoid frying foods. And avoid using gas stoves. Smoking or burning candles or incense are also bad ideas. All release emissions into the air.
▪ Designate a “clean air” room in your home, one room shut off from the rest of the home and away from exposure to smoke that may enter from outside or from dust or fumes indoors. This is especially useful for those with heart and lung problems, the very young and older seniors. The Environmental Protection Agency has information on how to set up a clean room in your home as well as information on wildfires and indoor air quality at epa.gov.
Find more information at Yolo-Solano’s website, ysqamd.org, or at airnow.gov, which also links to air quality boards across the state including Placer County Air Pollution Control District and Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
Also find tips here and here from the experts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Indoor Environment Group.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Closing the door to smoky skies: Improving indoor air doesn’t have to knock the wind out of you."
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