Improving Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality Amidst Wildfire Smoke and COVID-19

Every year, the Western United States experiences a wildfire season from May through October but this year has been recording-breaking According to a statement from the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles, “the combination of a very dry January and an even drier February resulted in one of the driest first two months of any calendar year on record across much of southwestern California. These record-breaking dry months have made 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California history, with 7,718 fires that have burned more than 3.7 million acres¹ Battling these ragging fires is tough enough, but add this to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and we are in the perfect storm of danger and hardship.

Throughout most wildfire seasons, hospitals and clinics see people coming in for respiratory issues from the smoke and dangerous microscopic particles wildfires produce. However, due to the pandemic, hospitals are seeing more patients with severe overlapping symptoms of COVID-19 and poor air quality from wildfire smoke and pollution this year. "What we know about wildfire smoke and particulate pollution is that exposure increases the risk for respiratory viral infections," Dr. Cheryl Pirozzi, a pulmonologist at University of Utah Health said in a recent university news release. “People with asthma and other lung diseases are more vulnerable to health problems from particulate pollution. And research has shown that air pollution can increase risk of infection with the new coronavirus,” Pirozzi said.

 A study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have shown even a small increase in long-term exposure to PM2.5 fine particulate air pollution that can come from wildfires (2.5 microns in size, 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair) may be linked to large increases in the death rate from COVID-19. An increase of just 1 ug/m3 in PM2.5 was associated with a statistically significant 15% increase in the Covid-19 death rate (95% CI, 5%-25%), according to the analysis. 

Keep Track of Fires

In order to prepare and protect yourself, if you are on the West Coast of the United States and/or are in areas prone to wildfires, keep track of fires in your area.

The CDC recommends the below fire tools:

• AirNow’s “Fires: Current Conditions”  page has a map of fires throughout North America.
• NOAA’s “Fire Weather Outlook” page maps fire watches and warnings.
• Listen to the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio for emergency alerts.

Stay Home and Shelter in Place When Possible

Due to the pandemic and social distancing guidelines, it is recommended to shelter in place when possible – unless state or local authorities have asked you evacuate. Sheltering at home with people you already live with is the safest way to avoid COVID-19 exposure.

Safeguard Your Home Against Wildfire Smoke and Pollution

“Wildfire smoke can irritate your lungs, cause inflammation, affect your immune system, and make you more prone to lung infections, including SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that cause COVID-19). The best way to protect against the potentially harmful effects of wildfire smoke is to reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke”, the CDC.

If you are able to shelter in place, there are some simple steps you can take to better keep wildfire smoke and pollution out of your home to help ensure that you have a healthy Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) for you and your loved ones.

How to Prepare Your Home for Wildfire Smoke and Pollution

Upgrade Your Air Filters to High-Efficiency MERV 13 Carbon Filters

• Upgrade your air filter to an activated carbon filter that also has a high Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 13 rating (or as high of a rating as your system will allow). This will not only help clean your air, but the added carbon media will trap and remove smoke and wildfire produced VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the air as well.
• Need a suggestion? Try our Astro-Sorb PLUS, that combines activated carbon with a high efficiency MERV rating ranging from MERV 8-13.

Note: We recommended replacing your air filter monthly but depending on your home’s foot traffic and smoke exposure, you may need to replace them more frequently.

Filter & Media Recommendations: High-Efficiency Carbon Filters

Why carbon?

Air filters like Astro-Sorb PLUS use a high-efficiency filter media with either MERV 8, 11, or 13 rating that is laminated to activated carbon, providing common particulate capture as well as odor, VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and smoke absorption. Our activated carbon is made with a coconut shell-based material and is activated by being heated, making it more porous and giving it a larger surface area. The process of activating the carbon allows the carbon to absorb gas and VOCs like a “sponge”, trapping the gas molecules and pollutants into the tiny carbon pores.

Run Your Air Conditioning System to Filter and Clean Your Indoor Air

For central HVAC air conditioning, set your system to recirculation mode and close off the fresh air intake or outdoor intake damper. This will help ensure that your unit is not pulling smoke from outside into your home.

For window units, close the outdoor air damper. If you are unable to close the damper, it is recommended to use a fan to stay cool instead. Make sure all cracks and gaps are sealed around the unit and the window to prevent smoke from entering

If you have a portable air conditioning with a single hose that is usually vented out of a window, it should not be used when smoke is present in your area.

If you have a portable air conditioner with two hoses, it can be used but make sure that all cracks and gaps are sealed between the window vent kit and the window.

Keep windows and doors closed as much as possible. This will help reduce the amount of smoke and ash entering your home.

Avoid vacuuming, as this can stir dirt and dust into the air reducing the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Use a portable air cleaner with a high efficiency filter to remove fine particles and contaminants from the air.

Avoid adding more contaminants and pollutants to the indoor air including:

• Smoking inside
• Using gas, propane, or wood burning stoves and furnaces
• Spraying aerosols and household cleaning products
• Burning candles and incense
• Frying or broiling food
• Wear a Respirator Mask
• The CDC recommends that you can limit how much ash you breathe in by wearing and N95 respirator. A respirator is a mask that first tightly to your face to filter out ash before you can breathe it in.  
• Choose a “particulate respirator” that has been tested and approved by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). It will have the words “NIOSH” and either “N95” or “P100” printed on it.
• You must wear the right respirator and wear it correctly. Respirators are not made to fit children

Sources:

https://www.physiciansweekly.com/covid-19-air-pollution-may-increase-mortality-risk/

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054502v2

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/wildfires/duringfire.html

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-09-west-coast-wildfires-covid-whammy.html