Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles from an active fire, affecting the air quality in communities far beyond the burn area. When that smoke reaches your neighborhood, some of it can make its way indoors through open doors, windows, small gaps, and your home’s ventilation system. While you may not be able to keep every particle outside, there are practical steps you can take to reduce how much wildfire smoke enters your home and help maintain cleaner indoor air. From keeping windows closed to checking your HVAC air filter, a little preparation can make a noticeable difference when smoky conditions arrive.
Why Is Wildfire Smoke a Concern Inside Your Home?
Closing your windows and doors can help keep smoke outside, but it does not completely prevent it from entering your home. Tiny airborne particles from wildfire smoke can move indoors through small cracks, gaps around doors and windows, ventilation systems, and other openings.
Once inside, those particles can linger in the air and lower your home’s indoor air quality. You may notice a smoky smell or hazy air, but wildfire smoke can still be present even when there are no obvious signs.
How Wildfire Smoke Gets Indoors
Wildfire smoke can enter your home through open windows and exterior doors, small gaps around windows and other openings, ventilation fans and systems that bring outdoor air inside, and HVAC systems with outdoor air intakes. Reducing these entry points can help limit how much wildfire smoke gets indoors and make it easier for your home’s air filtration system to keep the air cleaner.
Use Your HVAC System to Help Filter Indoor Air
Your home’s HVAC system can play an important role in maintaining indoor air quality when wildfire smoke is affecting your area. As air circulates through the system, the HVAC air filter can capture some of the airborne particles before the air is sent back throughout your home.
During periods of wildfire smoke, consider running your system on a recirculation setting when possible. This allows the HVAC system to continue filtering indoor air without intentionally bringing additional smoky outdoor air into the home. How effectively this works will depend in part on the type and condition of your air filter.
Check Your HVAC Air Filter
A dirty air filter cannot do its job as effectively as a clean air filter. Before or during a wildfire smoke event, check your HVAC air filter and replace it if it is visibly dirty or has reached its recommended replacement interval.
Heavy smoke conditions can also cause air filters to collect particles more quickly than they normally would. If wildfire smoke remains in your area for several days or weeks, check your air filter more frequently and replace it as needed.
Make sure the air filter is installed correctly and fits securely in the air filter compartment. Gaps around the air filter can allow air to bypass the air filtration material altogether.
Choose the Right Air Filter for Your System
Not all HVAC air filters provide the same level of air filtration. An air filter’s MERV rating is one way to understand how effectively it can capture airborne particles. In general, air filters with higher MERV ratings can capture smaller particles, which can be helpful when dealing with wildfire smoke.
However, the highest-rated air filter is not automatically the best option for every home. Your HVAC system needs to be able to move air effectively through the air filter, so it is important to choose an air filter that is compatible with your equipment.
Using the right air filter and replacing it regularly can help your HVAC system capture more airborne particles and support cleaner indoor air when wildfire smoke moves into your area.
Create a Cleaner-Air Space Inside Your Home
When wildfire smoke is especially heavy, it can be helpful to create one area of your home where you can focus your efforts on keeping the air as clean as possible. A cleaner-air space gives you a room or section of the home where you can limit outside air and use air filtration more effectively.
Choose the Right Room
Pick a room with as few windows and exterior doors as possible. A bedroom, office, or other enclosed space may work well, especially if it can be closed off from the rest of the home.
Keep the door to the room closed when possible, and avoid opening nearby windows while outdoor air quality is poor. Limiting how much outside air enters the space can help reduce the amount of wildfire smoke that gets inside.
Use Air Filtration in the Space
If you have a portable air cleaner, use it in the cleaner-air space and make sure it is appropriately sized for the room. You can also continue running your HVAC system with a clean air filter to help reduce airborne particles throughout the home.
Check your HVAC air filter regularly during smoky conditions, since wildfire smoke can cause air filters to collect particles more quickly than usual.
Avoid Adding More Particles Indoors
Try to avoid activities in the cleaner-air space that can add more particles to the air. Burning candles, smoking, using a fireplace, or creating excessive dust can make it harder to maintain cleaner indoor air.
Keeping the space as free from additional airborne particles as possible allows your air filtration efforts to focus on the wildfire smoke that has already made its way inside.
Creating a designated cleaner-air space can be especially useful during prolonged periods of wildfire smoke, giving your household a place to spend time while outdoor conditions remain poor.
Avoid Adding More Pollution to Indoor Air
When wildfire smoke is already affecting indoor air quality, everyday activities inside your home can add even more particles to the air. Reducing these additional sources can help keep indoor air cleaner and allow your air filtration system to work more effectively.
Limit Activities That Create Smoke
Avoid smoking indoors, burning candles or incense, and using wood-burning fireplaces while wildfire smoke is present outside. These activities can release additional particles into the air and make indoor air quality worse.
Even if the smoke source seems small, it can add to the particles that have already entered your home from outside.
Be Mindful of Cooking Methods
Some types of cooking can also create airborne particles. Frying, broiling, and cooking foods at very high temperatures can add smoke and grease particles to indoor air.
When wildfire smoke is especially heavy, consider using cooking methods that produce less smoke when possible. Keeping cooking areas clean and avoiding burned food can also help reduce unnecessary indoor air pollution.
Reduce Dust and Other Airborne Particles
Activities that stir up dust can temporarily increase the number of particles floating through your home. During smoky conditions, avoid sweeping dry floors, sanding, or completing dusty home improvement projects when possible.
Regularly checking your HVAC air filter and keeping indoor particle sources to a minimum can help your home’s air filtration system focus on reducing the wildfire smoke particles that have already made their way indoors.
What Should You Do After the Wildfire Smoke Clears?
Once outdoor air quality begins to improve, there are a few steps you can take to help clear out any remaining wildfire smoke particles and get your home’s indoor air quality back to normal.
Check and Replace Your HVAC Air Filter
Wildfire smoke can cause your HVAC air filter to collect particles more quickly than usual. Once the smoke has cleared, check your HVAC air filter and replace it if it looks dirty or has reached its recommended replacement interval.
Starting with a clean air filter can help your HVAC system continue removing lingering airborne particles as indoor air circulates.
Clean Surfaces Where Particles May Have Settled
Smoke particles can settle on floors, furniture, countertops, and other surfaces throughout your home. Wipe down hard surfaces with a damp cloth and clean floors to help remove any residue left behind.
If you vacuum, use a vacuum equipped with appropriate air filtration when possible to help avoid sending fine particles back into the air.
Ventilate Your Home When Outdoor Air Is Safe
Once local air quality has returned to a healthier level, opening windows and doors can help bring in fresh outdoor air and clear out any lingering odors or particles.
Continue checking local air quality conditions before ventilating your home, since wildfire smoke can return or shift quickly depending on wind and weather conditions.
Taking a few extra steps after a wildfire smoke event can help remove particles that may still be lingering indoors and prepare your home for the next period of poor outdoor air quality.
Conclusion
Wildfire smoke can travel far beyond the area where a fire is burning, so it is important to prepare before smoky conditions arrive. Keep the correct replacement air filters on hand, make sure your HVAC system is working properly, and know which room in your home could serve as a cleaner-air space if needed. Taking these steps ahead of time can make it easier to limit smoke indoors, support better indoor air quality, and keep your air filtration system working effectively during a wildfire smoke event.
