Tips on surviving wildfire smoke.

[GP44]

We live a little south of Chicago so the smoke from the Canadian wildfires hasn’t been as bad around here YET as it has been in places a little north of here.
At my age though it might not take a lot of air pollution to cause a major medical problem. I already have eye drops on hand for an eye condition and they might be handy if my eyes get irritated.
I know that there have been a lot of people who have survived very intense smoke situations in Australia as well as other places the last few years and might have some good advice that can save me from wasting time and money on products that are sub par.
Can you advise me on the best masks for when the smoke gets bad?
How about air purifiers? Do they make portable air conditioners that double as air purifiers.
What air purifiers are the best for as far as efficiency?
Are replaceable filters best or the kind that can be cleaned and reused?
Do you have any tips for survival if the air gets too polluted in our area?
I have even thought of leaving the area for a while if it gets really bad.

 

[David777]

Years before the pandemic, I already had purchased an N95 mask due to wildfires here in California. Now possess a tall stack of KN95's. Wildfires in the far west tend to occur from mid summer thru late fall while those burning now are primarily a result of spring lightning weather during this global warming era.

For such a technical issue, instead of asking members herein given the great changes after the pandemic to mask technology and products, the wiser strategy would be to web search latest info yourself and then report what you find since there will be other members living downstream that could benefit.

 

[GP44]

Years before the pandemic, I already had purchased an N95 mask due to wildfires here in California. Now possess a tall stack of KN95's. Wildfires in the far west tend to occur from mid summer thru late fall while those burning now are primarily a result of spring lightning weather during this global warming era.

For such a technical issue, instead of asking members herein given the great changes after the pandemic to mask technology and products, the wiser strategy would be to web search latest info yourself and then report what you find since there will be other members living downstream that could benefit.

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Thank you! Yes it is a lot to ask but if a few people gave me advice on here others can also see that advice. I am just getting started trying to find out as much as I can about living with this smoke problem.
I think that this is going to be a problem that will affect more people all the time and that will be around for a very long time.
I know from being an old guy that had worn a mask a lot in 2020 that it is hard to find one that does a decent amount of filtering without restricting my breathing too much.
The gas mask type might be the best option as long as I don’t have to wear it around a lot of people.
Maybe if wearing a gas mask becomes common enough we might not have to be concerned about how other people will react from seeing one.
You are right that there are so many things to consider like how big of a room or rooms will an air purifier filter efficiently.
And how many would be needed to effectively control the pollutants in the areas we live in the most.
Should we be thinking of trying to condition the air in a whole house or use personal units where we sleep? Or maybe both.
I told my wife of my concerns and she says we aren’t going to be spending a lot of money on prevention.
But when it comes to health and safety I will do what I have to do.

 

[mrstime]

We have air purifiers going all over the house. Especially now DH has a problem with pollen.

 

[GP44]

We have air purifiers going all over the house. Especially now DH has a problem with pollen.

Do you have a particular one that works out best for you.
Like has the best features- filters the air best or easy to maintain?

 

[GP44]

Been looking at respirators and filters.
Will dive into air purifiers next but would really like to know which ones people think work best and have a good filtration rate and reasonable easy to find filters.

 

[Babs2u]

Those maps show how awful the situation is. Please be careful if you are in harms way. I wonder how helpful the trees are in filtering out the smoke in woodsy areas.