JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Air quality will go up and down over the weeks to months ahead as the West Mims fire bellows smoke. When it gets bad the best way to avoid smoke is staying indoor.
An air-conditioned home using re-circulating indoor air will help people with asthma or COPD and it may be more beneficial to buy an air cleaner before smoke gets into your home.
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Just make sure it is high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter and one that won't produce excess ozone.
Be sure to match the filter capacity to the size of the room.
Air cleaners are available as either less expensive portable units designed to clean the air in a single room ($90 - $900) or as larger central whole house air cleaners ($450 - $1500) which are more effective than room air cleaners.
But two or more portable air cleaners can be just as good if placed properly together in a room.
Although most air cleaners preform poorly removing odors and gases both electronic air cleaners and fiber or fabric filters may offer some help.
Make sure to avoid ozone generators because they can cause more harm than good.
While ozone high in the atmosphere helps block harmful skin burning radiation, low levels in your home or near close to the ground can irritate breathing, causing coughing, chest pain and shortness of breath.
According to public health agencies, some devices, known as ozone generators, personal air purifiers, “super-oxygen” air purifiers, and “pure air” generators, are sold as air cleaners, but intentionally produce large amounts of ozone gas.
Of course companies making these ozone generators never disclose how the devices can increase adverse effects of wildfire smoke. Ozone does nothing to filter smoke particles but will generate harmful formaldehyde indoors when particles combine with the gas. California has banned some of these devices.
Even thought ozone levels are high enough to remove mold and kill bacteria, concentrations are many times higher than what's considered safe for humans and this has led to a ban in California for some of these machines.