What a Clean Room Is
When the smoke is outside, the goal is to keep as little of it as possible in the part of the house where you spend your time.
EPA describes a clean room as a room set up to keep levels of smoke and other particles as low as possible during wildfire smoke events. It should be free of particle-producing activities, with doors and windows closed, and may hold a portable air cleaner (EPA).
EPA says anyone can benefit if it is safe to stay home, and that children, older adults, and people with heart disease or breathing problems may benefit most. Conditions can change quickly, so be ready to evacuate, and follow local news, AirNow or your state air quality website (EPA).
Setting It Up
- Choose a room. It should fit everyone in the household and be comfortable. EPA suggests a bedroom with an attached bathroom, since it can be closed off for long periods.
- Seal it off. Close all windows and doors. If the room has an exhaust fan or range hood, use it only briefly, because it can pull smoke in from elsewhere in the house.
- Stay cool without pulling in smoke. If your HVAC or window unit has a fresh-air option, turn it off, close the intake or switch to recirculate mode.
- Filter the air. See the next section.
- Avoid indoor particle sources.
- Stay in the room as much as possible, and avoid exercising there.
These are EPA’s steps, shortened (EPA).
Filtering the Air
- Portable air cleaner. Choose one sized for the room, run it continuously on the highest setting if possible, and pick a model that does not produce ozone (EPA). See what EPA says air cleaners can and cannot do.
- Central HVAC. Install a MERV 13 or higher filter if your system is compatible, and set the fan to On rather than Auto so it runs more often. Ask an HVAC technician if you are unsure (EPA).
- Replace filters more often. During heavy smoke, EPA says to replace them more often than the manufacturer recommends, especially if they look heavily soiled (EPA).
- Do-it-yourself box-fan cleaners. EPA says to use these only when products of known performance are not available or affordable, and gives safety rules, including using a box fan made in 2012 or later with a UL or ETL safety mark (EPA).
What to Avoid Indoors
EPA lists smoking and vaping, gas, propane or wood stoves and furnaces, aerosol sprays, frying or broiling, candles or incense, and vacuuming unless the vacuum has a HEPA filter. It suggests dusting or mopping with a damp cloth so settled particles do not become airborne (EPA).
When air quality improves, even briefly, EPA says to ventilate by opening windows or the fresh-air intake and running kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans (EPA).
When Staying Put Does Not Work
EPA says that if you cannot stay cool at home, the power fails or smoke keeps entering, it may be wise to seek shelter elsewhere: with friends or family who are not affected, at a public clean-air shelter, or in a large air-conditioned commercial building with good filtration (EPA).
If you have heart or lung disease, including asthma, EPA says to check with your health care provider about what to do during smoke events (EPA).
Smoke Inside Your Own Building
This guide is about smoke that drifts in from outside. If there has been a fire in your building, see fire and smoke services. H&H Environmental has operated since 2005 and provides indoor air quality services: testing, sampling, inspection, laboratory analysis, consultation, and air-purification-related services. This guide does not describe what those services involve, so call and tell us what you are concerned about.
On a New York mold project, H&H performs either the mold assessment or the mold remediation — never both on the same project. See mold services.
H&H is based in Saugerties, in Ulster County, and focuses on eight New York counties. Call and tell us where the property is, and we will confirm availability.