How to Choose a Safe and Effective Air Cleaner to Protect Your Health from Wildfire Smoke

When wildfire smoke reaches your doorstep, it’s important to be prepared. Climate change is making smoke events more frequent and severe, exposing more people to harmful air pollution. The wildfires raging across the western United States this year are another reminder of how important it is to know what to do when a smoke event hits. And as we saw last summer when smoke from wildfires in Canada darkened skies in many parts of the East and Midwest, smoke can travel thousands of miles and bring hazardous air quality to communities far from the source.

Smoke from wildfires can be harmful to everyone’s health. Fine particles, also known as ‘soot,’ can travel deep into the lungs and the bloodstream, causing a range of adverse health impacts from respiratory and cardiovascular harm to adverse birth outcomes and even early death. Two of the most important steps people can take to protect their health during a wildfire smoke event are to stay indoors and protect the air inside their home. This means keeping doors, windows and fireplace dampers shut and circulating clean air through air conditioners and air cleaners.

Air cleaners with HEPA filters are effective at clearing out wildfire smoke particles and creating cleaner indoor air during wildfire smoke events. Air cleaners can be especially useful for households with people more vulnerable to the health effects of smoke exposure, including children, people over the age of 65, pregnant individuals, outdoor workers, and people with asthma, COPD or other lung diseases, chronic heart disease, or diabetes. When it comes to choosing a safe and effective air cleaner for your home, it can be hard to know where to start.

Tips for Choosing a Safe & Effective Air Cleaner

There are many factors to consider when choosing an air cleaner, including type, cost, room size, noise, weight and energy use. Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP), a project of the Public Health Institute, in partnership with Gina Solomon, Chief of the Division of Occupational, Environmental and Climate Medicine at University of California, San Francisco developed guidance to help consumers select an air cleaner that’s best for them. When choosing an air cleaner:

1. Make sure the air cleaner is a mechanical air cleaner. Mechanical air cleaners are safe and effectively filter out particles using High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) or similar filters. Electronic air cleaners, on the other hand, rely on technologies that can produce ozone or other byproducts harmful to health. 
2. Check to see if the air cleaner is CARB-certified. Even if you don’t live in California, your healthiest choice will likely be an air cleaner certified by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). You can check the list of CARB-certified air cleaners here.
3. Choose an air cleaner that is the right size for the space where it will be used. Air cleaners are made to clean different-sized rooms. It is important to use one that is powerful enough to clean the amount of air in the room where it will be used. The clean air delivery rate (CADR) tells you how much air the air cleaner cleans hourly, measured in cubic feet per minute (cfm). Use an air cleaner with a CADR up to 200 cfm for a small room, 200-300 cfm for a medium-sized room, and more than 300 cfm for a large room.

Other factors to consider include cost, noise level, size and weight, energy efficiency independent testing, and additional features.

1. Cost: Air cleaners and replacement filters are expensive. There are very effective air cleaners for $250 or less. Less expensive options like the DIY air cleaner can help filter indoor air in your home. However, EPA does not recommend the routine use of DIY air cleaners as a permanent alternative to commercially available portable air cleaners.
2. Noise Level: Air cleaners work best at their highest fan speed, but they can be loud. For instance, air cleaners that are above 55 decibels (dB) are quite noisy and will be unpleasant for most people.
3. Size and Weight: Size and portability of an air cleaner can be important considerations for families who may live in crowded spaces or move often.
4. Energy Efficiency: The Energy Star label means an air cleaner uses energy efficiently. This saves money and helps the environment.
5. Independent Testing: Air cleaners that have been certified by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) have been independently tested, which lets you know the CADR is accurate. Manufacturers pay for AHAM to evaluate their products, so an air cleaner may still be good even if it is not certified by AHAM.
6. Additional Features: Some air cleaners come with additional features, such as air quality monitors, indicator lights to let you know when the filter needs to be replaced, and child locks. Knowing what’s important to you and your family can help you prioritize which air cleaner is right for you.