Question: What’s the best way to deal with the impending smoke screen approaching?
Answer: First, try and avoid sending any smoke signals. I was firing up the charcoal grille the other day and, what would have normally been something I didn’t give a second thought about, became a real concern. As the smoke swirled and made its way skyward in a big plume, I awaited the water tankers and helicopters to arrive. I’ll stick to gas grilling until we get off of this high alert — batting down the hatches and sealing off the outside air works to an extent as you may imagine. Unfortunately, the terms “infiltration” and “exfiltration” come into play. How tightly your home is constructed has a great deal to do with what comes and goes into and out of your home. Cracks and crevices, unsealed ducting, windows and ceiling penetrations all add up to allow dust and dirt, as well as fine particles like smoke, to seep in. Why do we care about what’s in the air? For a good deal of us, we have a fairly high threshold to air impurities; but visible smoke not only looks unsightly, it carries with it unpleasantries for our lungs. All of us have been chased out by the smoke of a campfire (that always follows beauty) and we have the good sense to move or suffer the consequences. The air around us always contains a wide range of chemicals and gasses; but when the ambient air contains a high enough concentration that we can actually see it, that’s a concern. Young kids with developing lungs, older folks and certainly people with asthma or other chronic breathing conditions require some air quality defense. Just be thankful that we are not in Beijing (or many other cities in China) were there is a daily breathing battle. I wonder if it has anything to do with the lack of air pollution regulation and enforcement. Lucky for us and the U.S. that we have the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Back on home ground, the seasonal smoke driven by lack of rain and some pretty toasty weather is to be expected. Closing up your home, even in the evening hours, may become a requirement as those cooling breezes are just a bit too caustic. We at AirWorks, of course, still install and service air conditioners that do allow comfort inside when it’s hot and/or smoky outside. Most of these installs are all in a day’s work, so give us a call at AirWorks at 257-1341 for ductless or whole home cooling systems. Once you have the relative comfort of cooling when the windows can stay closed, you are halfway there. As mentioned above, the air leakage of your home may require some additional indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions. Obviously, there are many filters that can help — it’s just knowing which ones. Just be very careful of the many “allergy filters” available. They may be effective but many are so restrictive in the airstream that they may be affect the performance of your HVAC equipment. We at AirWorks, of course, install many kinds of deep pleated filters and air purification systems for homes and business that are not gimmicks but true solutions. These solutions are not inexpensive but you get what you pay for. Any 1 inch filter (pleated, electrostatic, electronic or other type) will not — and can not — perform like a true IAQ air purification system — despite the claims. We carry the true “HEPA” filters (high efficiency particulate air) that are located next to your indoor furnace or air handler. They draw air out of the air stream and then, after filtration, put it back into your home. Despite the claims, any real HEPA must capture 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns — that’s a tough go. A stand alone system will function at that level if you really want to do the best job you can cleaning your air. Of course, we have ultraviolet light purification systems as well, which works great combined with some of the above mentioned measures. The bottom line is that there are solutions for many of these IAQ issues. Consider it an investment in your health and well being — for you and your family.
