MILWAUKEE — From June 26th through the 29th, Southeast Wisconsin was blanketed by a thick layer of smoke from Canadian wildfires. The 27th, in particular, saw some of the worst air quality in the area’s recorded history.
And as people clamored into area hardware and home improvement stores for air filters, N95 masks, and pieces to put together makeshift Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, it started the conversation about what people do to keep their home’s air quality as clean as possible.
If what many scientists are predicting comes true, that being that wildfire smoke events will only become more common as a result of climate change, then taking steps now to ensure your home is ready in the future is the best bet you can make on your in-home air.
Building inspector and co-host of the “WTMJ Fix-It Show,” David Nason has seen trends in home construction putting a greater emphasis on air filtration and overall quality for the past 25 years, and that those leanings are only moving faster now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“People are more and more aware of the quality of the air they’re breathing inside their homes, as well as outside,” Nason said. “We spend so much time inside our homes, even if you work all day, you’re sleeping in your home all night, so that’s about half the day you’re inside your home.”
As more time is spent inside, many people are wondering where their indoor air comes from. In particular, the Google search ‘Does an A/C bring in air from outside?’ spiked in some circles in late June. Technically speaking, the air you feel come out of your air conditioner is recycled from the air indoors.
“The cooled air that you’re getting in your house is actually the air that’s already in your house” Nason said. “It’s just being cooled by that coil that’s in the duct work right above your furnace.”
Yet the solution to keeping your indoor air clean isn’t as cut and dry as shutting your windows and blasting your A/C. Nason tells me there are two problems with this approach. First, if you have an older home, smoky air can still find a way inside through drafty zones and ill-fitting windows. Also, even in newer homes, if you just shut the windows and never open them, you’re breathing in old air that contains any particulates that are already inside.
“Commercial buildings used to get what was called ‘sick building syndrome’, and that was a result of poor indoor air quality.”
That’s why it’s imperative to make sure you regularly inspect your home’s mechanical intake vent, which lets in air from the outside, as well as your furnace filter.
And even if you live in an older home, or a rental without central air, an air purifier is a good investment in helping to keep sneaky smoke particulates at bay.
