What to do to keep wildfire smoke out of your house

Backup power sources and a solid air filter are just a few ways to prepare your home for wildfire smoke.

While optimists hoped 2021 might see a break from the heat waves, wildfires and pandemic that riddled the Bay Area in 2021, there appears to be little relief. COVID-19 continues to spread in the form of the Delta variant, and wildfires have come back to the Bay Area.

That combination makes breathing more of a task than it would otherwise seem.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District and San Francisco Department of Public Health have previously said it's best to seek out places with fresh air and filtered air systems, such as indoor malls, libraries, community centers, civic centers and local government buildings.

Of course, that's more complicated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legal restrictions bind how businesses operate and people gather and mask mandates are returning in parts of the country.

It's also worth considering how a power outage may affect you while wildfire smoke is in the Bay Area, so below you'll find advice on how to prepare for wildfire smoke, and what products you may considering buying.

You'll see people wearing N95 masks – the kind you'd wear while sanding or painting – during a wildfire. As SFGATE previously reported, it's still best to seek out places with fresh air. While an N95 mask is the best option to protect against both wildfire smoke and COVID-19 transmission, they aren't ideal for everyone.

"We reach for them because they're easy, and sometimes they make you feel a little better," Dr. Jan Gurley, director of public health emergency preparedness and response with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told SFGATE. "But there are no substitutes for getting to where the air is clean."

If you do reach for a mask, understand what it is and how it works.

With an N95 mask, the 95 number means it blocks 95 percent of particulate matter. An N97 blocks 97 percent, and an N100 mask blocks 100 percent (really 99.9997).

If you see a P instead of an N, like a P100 mask, that means the mask also blocks lead and asbestos. But an N100 and P100 should work equally well for soot.

No matter the rating, a mask won't be effective if worn improperly. Just having facial hair can kill a mask's efficacy, as particulate matter will get past facial hair. Masks should not be reused, and more notably, there are no such rated masks for children. An N95 mask will not properly fit a child, and will therefore be ineffective.

Additionally, wearing a mask could exacerbate respiratory issues, as they make breathing more difficult. Your best bet is still to go somewhere with clean air or seek out a sealed building with a filtered HVAC system.

If you insist on wearing a mask, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District suggests using only N95 or N100 masks. Surgical masks or bandanas will not help.

According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, weatherizing your home is the first step to keeping smoke out. That means:

Replacing windows and doors isn't something you can do in a pinch, or perhaps at all if you live in a rental. But you can seal leaks yourself with products like window weather stripping, sealant caulk and door sweeps.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District suggests buying a "non-ozone producing air purifier (HEPA) to create a cleaner air room in the home" or "a MERV 13 or greater filter for your HVAC system to be used when experiencing a heavy smoke event."

READ MORE ABOUT HOW AIR PURIFIERS WORK

Amazon carries a variety of non-ozone producing air purifiers, and some of the best-sellers cost less than $100. You'll want to run this filter in the room where you spend the most time, like your bedroom. If you live in an apartment building, this is likely your best option.

MERV 13 filters are inexpensive, running less than $10 per filter, and are usually sold in multipacks. But, as Francis Zamora, a spokesperson for the Department of Emergency Management told SFGATE, you only need to use a MERV 13 filter in your HVAC system during a smoke event, and not at all times.

If you're using air conditioning amid wildfire smoke, make sure to set it to recirculate air so as to not bring in smoky air from the outside, and make sure the filter is clean. If you have a window air conditioning unit, make sure it is properly sealed and the filter is clean.

Wildfire smoke inhalation symptoms include: irritation to the eyes and airways, cough, a dry scratchy throat and irritated sinuses. Smoke can also trigger wheezing in people with asthma, emphysema or other respiratory conditions.

If you're suffering from a cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms you think might be caused by smoke, contact your physician.

As SFGATE covered in its blackout preparedness kit, you've got plenty of options when it comes to external device chargers.

Anker makes a variety of high-capacity batteries that can charge a smartphone several times without having to be plugged in, and Aukey has a bunch on sale right now.

The PowerCore 10,000 mAh is available in a bunch of places, including Amazon. If it's fully charged, it has enough juice to recharge an iPhone 12 more than twice.

The Jackery Portable Power Station Explorer 500 can power small appliances and electronic devices under 500 watt(surge 1000W), like car coolers, air pumps, car vacuums, laptops and phones. It also pairs with the SolarSaga 100W Portable Solar Panel, which lets you charge anywhere there's sunlight. So unless you're on the dark side of the moon, you'll be able to juice up your phone. And if you're on the dark side of the moon, you're not going to be getting any reception anyway.

These power stations are designed for camping and should keep an air purifier running if your power cuts out for a few hours.

A gas-powered generator can run appliances for brief periods. Don't run your generator without ventilation, and make sure to read its instructions. You'll need to know your appliance's wattage to buy the right sized generator.

As the National Ag Safety Database explains: "If you want a generator to run a refrigerator and a freezer, the wattage of the refrigerator would be 800 and the freezer would be 1,000. To select the correct size generator, you decide if both refrigerator and freezer are to start at the same time. If so, you would need (1,800 X 4) 7,200 watts. You would select the nearest larger wattage generator. If you can be certain both appliances will not start at the same time, you would only need 4,800 watts (to run the refrigerator while starting the freezer)."