Do Air Conditioners Filter Out Wildfire Smoke

When wildfire season steadily approaches and threatens your community, whether you be in a dry climate area, in the mid-west where wildfires roar, or in an area that has a proven track record of seasonal wildfires within this area, preparation will be key in keeping yourself and your environment safe. Wildfires can commence quickly and rapidly in an environment, giving the community very little time to prepare for this natural disaster that is potentially knocking at their door.

Smoke plumes will flood into an area, both outdoors and indoors, during and after a wildfire it will spread quickly and enter into almost every area within reach – including your home’s and other personal indoor environments. When this smoke from a wildfire enters into your home it can do so by open windows and doors, poor insulation, and even from air conditioning units that bring in outdoor air into the indoor air space.

What can you do to filter out wildfire smoke from your house and are there some air conditioners that are effectively capable of filtering out the pollutants found in wildfire smoke from your indoor environment? 

Should I Run My AC During a Fire?

As the wildfires roar outside your window it is logical to question what you should and should not do inside your home to shield the environment from invading wildfire smoke that threatens to enter into this air space. A big area of concern in a home during a wildfire is the air conditioner and whether or not having this device running inside your home compromises the indoor air quality. Recirculated air that is brought into an indoor environment from the air conditioner presents a level of danger to the air in a home, as it can seep particulate matter and other pollutants from wildfire smoke that can cause dangerous effects to human health.

Depending on the air conditioning unit and the settings that you have on this device it can impact the risks of wildfire smoke entering into your home. Be sure to turn off any settings that allows the intake of outdoor air into the indoor air space and turn off any window ac units that will pull in contaminated outdoor air into the home. 

Does Air Conditioning Remove Smoke

The principle function and use of an air conditioner in a home is to heat and cool the environment, but do these units also purify the air of contaminants? Although purifying the air is not the primary function of an air conditioning unit, it does have the potential to aid in this function depending on the filter type that is used in this air device. The selection of an air filter for wildfire smoke in your air handling system is an important decision when trying to maximize air purification within your home. Some air filters are made of cheap materials that are designed to only filter large particulate matter and lasts up to 30 days, while other filters are specifically designed to maximize pollutant filtration including odors, chemicals, and small/large particulate matter that can be found in wildfire smoke – these types of filters can last as long as 6 months in your air conditioner.

It is vitally important to regularly maintain your filter and replace them when necessary to minimize the risks of pollutants re-entering into your environment, particularly that of wildfire smoke.

Out of the vast selection of air filters available to consumers in the market today for their air conditioning units, it is important to thoroughly research and look into the technology and the effectiveness of the filter before placing in your home to filter the indoor air. The EnviroKlenz HVAC Air Filter is a highly effective and proprietary technology air filter that is able to work against a variety of airborne pollutants including chemical VOCs, noxious odors, and particulate matter that are all present in forest fire smoke.

The patented earth mineral technology of EnviroKlenz provides toxic and noxious chemical elimination capabilities in a filter. In forest fire smoke, there are a mix of components that are found in this matter including corrosive gases, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, fats and oils, and resins and waxes. The EnviroKlenz metal oxides work against these compounds to neutralize and/or break them down completely.

Frequently Asked Questions – How to Keep Wildfire Smoke Out of House

The Best Air Purifier for Wildfire Smoke

The EnviroKlenz® Air System safely and effectively combines advanced chemistry technology with HEPA filtration to capture and destroy airborne toxic and noxious gasses, particulates, allergens, bacteria, viruses, and other allergy triggers. It is an especially great option for those who are not running their Air Conditioning systems constantly, or who do not have a built in AC system. It works extremely well to filter out particulates such as ash, soot, and other debris from nearby fires, and to neutralize the harmful gasses, chemicals, and odors that make up smoke.