Wildfire Smoke and Summer Air Quality: How to Protect Your Home

Summer is supposed to be the season of backyard barbecues, open windows, and perfectly cut grass. But depending on where you live, summer also brings a highly unwelcome guest. Wildfire season.

The worst part is that you do not even need to live anywhere near a forest to feel the burn. Smoke from a fire three states away can catch a jet stream, drift into your neighborhood, and turn a bright afternoon into a hazy twilight.

Have you ever woken up in the middle of July, smelled a strong campfire scent, and wondered who was roasting marshmallows at 7:00 AM? That is not a neighbor having a good time. That is microscopic particulate matter infiltrating your living room.

Wildfire smoke is packed with PM2.5, which are tiny, invisible particles that easily slip through the tiny cracks around your windows and doors. If you are tired of your house smelling like a smoky backwood campfire and your eyes constantly watering, you need a defensive strategy.

Here is how to lock down your home and keep your indoor air crystal clear.

1. Initiate Bunker Mode

When the sky turns orange, your house needs to become a fortress. We all love a good cross breeze, but when the Air Quality Index climbs into the unhealthy zone, every window and door must stay completely shut.

Genius Hack: Do not rely on your eyes or your nose to test the outdoor air. Download a local air quality app to check the actual AQI every morning. If the numbers are in the red, keep the house sealed tight.

2. Upgrade Your Filter Arsenal

Your standard fiberglass air filter was built to catch giant dust bunnies, not microscopic smoke particles. If you try to fight a wildfire with a cheap filter, you are going to lose. You need to upgrade your defense, but you have to do it carefully.

3. The Fan Switch Trick

Your HVAC system cannot clean the air if it is not moving the air. Most homeowners leave their thermostat fan setting on Auto, which means the system only filters the air when the AC compressor is actively cooling the house.

During a smoke event, walk over to your thermostat and switch the fan setting to On. This forces the blower motor to run continuously. It acts like a giant, whole house air purifier, constantly sucking the smoky air through your high quality filter and pumping clean air back into your rooms.

4. Do Not Add to the Smog

When your house is completely sealed up in Bunker Mode, whatever happens inside stays inside. This is not the time to accidentally create your own indoor pollution.

• Skip the skillet: Frying bacon or searing a steak puts a massive amount of particulate matter into the air. Boil or bake your food instead.

• Ditch the ambiance: Do not light any scented candles or incense. They only add extra soot to the air you are already struggling to keep clean.

• Hold off on the vacuum: Unless you have a sealed HEPA vacuum, running it will just kick settled dust back into the air. Give yourself a pass on the chores until the skies clear.

The Bottom Line

You cannot control the wind, and you definitely cannot control the wildfires. But you absolutely can control the environment inside your own living room. By sealing up the leaks, running your fan strategically, and upgrading to the right filter, you can breathe easy all summer long. With FiltersDelivered.com we can help you keep your home safe with quality filters and fast shipping.