Simple steps for better air quality

INDIANAPOLIS (CONSUMER REPORTS) — Wildfires are in the news more often, with tens of thousands burning millions of acres yearly.

Even if you don’t live near an active fire, there’s a good chance you can see and feel the effects of smoke and dust pollution both outside and inside your home. Consumer Reports’ experts share some simple steps to improve the air quality, making breathing a little easier.

As wildfires rip through acres of land, they leave a storm of smoke and dust pollution in their wake. The smoke from wildfires can travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, affecting the air inside your home.

An air purifier is a good first line of defense inside your home when combating smoke caused by wildfires. Consumer Reports testers to rate the effectiveness of dozens of air purifiers.

In its labs, CR injects contaminants like smoke and dust into a controlled chamber to see how well an air purifier reduces the number of particles in the air. The faster an air purifier can remove those particles, the better the score.

The Blueair Blue Pure 211i Max, for $245, was one of the best in CR’s tests for removing dust, pollen, and smoke from larger rooms. CR says for maximum effectiveness you should keep the fabric pre-filter off.

For less money, the Honeywell InSight HPA5300B, which costs $193 at Walmart and Amazon, is also great at removing dust, pollen, and smoke particles—but only on its highest speed setting.

But an air purifier isn’t the only way you can protect yourself. Air purifiers work best when using them with other methods that help improve your indoor air quality.

Here’s how to maximize the effectiveness of an air purifier: Close and seal windows and doors with weather stripping or even masking tape if that’s all you have on hand. Spend most of your time in a room with few or no windows, and avoid rooms with vents to the outside.

Finally, if you’re dealing with an active wildfire or lots of smoke pollution, CR says you should keep your air purifier running 24/7 and change the filter as soon as the indicator light comes on.

Consumer Reports says you want to also keep in mind that indoor smoke sources from fireplaces, candles, and incense – even nearby pollution outside of your home can all affect indoor air quality, so it’s a good idea to minimize those if you want to limit your exposure to air pollution further.