Wildfire smoke and your home’s air quality: what you can do

Photo: Team Cheever Plumbing and HVAC.

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — When wildfire smoke settles over Park City, most people close their windows and head inside, but that’s not always enough. Smoke can still find its way into your home through doors, fresh-air intakes, leaky ductwork and the normal gaps in any building’s structure.

The biggest health concern from wildfire smoke is fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5. These particles are small enough to travel deep into the lungs, making indoor air quality just as important as what happens outside.

The good news: there are steps you can take right now, and longer-term upgrades that make a real difference.

What you can do today

Keep windows and doors closed.

If it smells smoky outside, treat your home like a controlled environment.

Run your HVAC fan on “on” or “circulate” mode.

This moves air through your filter more often. Make sure the filter is clean and properly seated, and check or replace it more frequently during smoke events. Wildfire smoke loads filters faster than ordinary dust.

Do not automatically buy the highest-rated filter.

High-efficiency filters can restrict airflow if your HVAC blower, ductwork and return air were not designed for them. A filter upgrade should match your system, not just the label on the box.

Adjust or shut off fresh-air systems during smoke events.

Homes with a fresh-air damper, energy recovery ventilator or heat recovery ventilator may be actively pulling smoky outdoor air inside. Those systems may need to be temporarily adjusted or turned off.

Create a cleaner room.

Choose one room, keep the door closed and run a properly sized portable HEPA air purifier. This works especially well for sleeping areas and is particularly important for children, older adults and anyone with asthma, allergies, or respiratory conditions.

Avoid adding pollutants to your indoor air.

Candles, incense, wood-burning fireplaces, heavy frying and even vacuuming can raise particle levels inside your home during smoke events.

Upgrades Team Cheever can provide

Before recommending any indoor air quality upgrade, Team Cheever evaluates your existing system. Filter size, return air configuration, static pressure and duct layout all affect what will actually work for your home.

For many homes, the single best first step is an upgrade to a media filter cabinet. Most homes are limited to 1-inch filters. A larger cabinet allows better filtration with less restriction on airflow.

When a system can support it, MERV 13 filtration is commonly recommended for wildfire smoke. The keyword is “when.” Better filtration only helps if it doesn’t hurt your airflow.

For homeowners who want whole-home coverage, we can install a ducted air cleaner that improves filtration throughout the house. For those who want the highest level of filtration without overstressing the system, a bypass HEPA system continuously cleans a portion of the air.

We also review homes with outdoor air intakes, ERVs or HRVs to make sure homeowners understand when outside air is being brought in, how it is filtered and how to control those systems during a smoke event.

Leaky return ducts that run through crawl spaces, attics, or mechanical rooms can pull dirty air directly into your HVAC system. Sealing and improving the return side of the system helps both air quality and overall HVAC performance.

Finally, indoor air quality monitors give homeowners real data. They show when PM2.5 levels are elevated and whether the upgrades you have made are actually working.

A note on what different products actually do

Not every IAQ product addresses wildfire smoke. A filter or air purifier removes particles. A fresh-air system brings outdoor air in. A UV light can help with biological growth inside HVAC equipment, but it does not filter smoke. Ozone-producing devices should not be used in occupied homes.

For wildfire smoke, filtration is the tool that matters.

If you have questions about your home’s air quality or want to talk through what upgrades make sense for your system, contact Team Cheever. We are here to help Park City homeowners breathe easier, especially when the air outside is not cooperating.

Summit County urges residents to prepare homes for wildfire smoke