Like most natural disasters, wildfires are unavoidable and keeping your family safe requires preparation. Although wildfire season varies from year to year, historically, they’re most likely to occur between July and October. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 33,013 large wildfires have caused over 1,804,303 acres to burn across the country thus far in 2021. Last year brought record breaking wildfires and predictions for this year are already alarming. There are many steps in preparing for wildfire season and we’re here to talk about the clean air you should be breathing.

The CDC suggests setting up a portable air cleaner indoors to keep wildfire smoke outdoors. Wildfire season causes lingering smoke to create unsafe and hazardous air quality conditions. The air can consist of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), gases, and ultrafine particles. When inhaled, smoke from a wildfire can cause chest pain, coughing, dizziness, your eyes to burn, nose to run, and irritate your respiratory system. This smoke also contributes to the worsening of chronic heart and lung diseases, preexisting respiratory issues, and asthma. It goes without saying that reducing your exposure to wildfire smoke is imperative for your health.

Due to the number of health hazards that wildfires cause, it’s important to choose the correct air purifier. The best air purifier for wildfire smoke will boast a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to trap fine particulate matter. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), only these filters will capture the most penetrating particle size. The U.S. Department of Energy states that in order for filters to be categorized as HEPA, they must have the ability to trap 99.97% of particles with a size of 0.3 microns or larger. This includes a range of pollutants and allergens such as pollen, pet dander, dust, smoke, and and other ultrafine particles. Winix air purifiers contain industry leading True HEPA filters, which capture 99.99%* of airborne particles as small as 0.003 microns in size.

While HEPA filters trap particles and contaminants, they do not capture odors or gases. In order to tackle the smell of wildfire smoke, its important that your air purifier also has an activated carbon filter in addition to a HEPA filter. Activated carbon filters trap not only the lingering smells of smoke, but also the gases that are being burned.

Filtration is a huge factor in air purification, but the addition of a few technical features can help take the guesswork out of your air quality. When faced with a wildfire, your attention will be elsewhere and knowing the current air quality you and your family is breathing should be at your fingertips. Winix air purifiers offer that with an Air Quality Indicator (AQI) feature. This feature visually displays your real-time air quality with LED lights. The AQI works in conjunction with the unit’s smart sensors and these smart sensors are the first to detect particles or VOCs present in the air. The AQI then calibrates accordingly based on the volume of particles or VOCs detected. This is all done for you when the air purifier is in Auto Mode as the fan speed adjusts accordingly to achieve the best quality of air possible.

As wildfire season approaches, incorporating an air purifier in your home will not only help reduce airborne particles but it will provide your family the healthiest indoor air quality you can achieve under such conditions.

*Based on independent laboratory tests conducted on inanimate particles as small as 0.003 microns.