Wildfire smoke gets into airtight, energy-efficient Denver homes mainly through everyday actions like opening garage doors and letting pets in and out, not through gaps in construction.
Joe walks through three fixes homeowners can put to work right away: installing a static (electronic) filter that uses a 24-volt charge to pull smoke particles out of the air, keeping filters changed on schedule so they aren’t just recirculating dirty air, and limiting how often doors and garages open on the smokiest days.
Even with a good filter in place, some smoke will still get in on heavy days, and it takes time for the furnace to cycle that air back to clean. Watch the full episode for Joe’s breakdown of static filtration and why it matters most during Denver’s wildfire season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a static filter, and how does it help with smoke?
A static (electronic) filter uses a 24-volt electrical charge to pull smoke particles out of the air as it passes through, making it more effective against smoke than a standard filter.
Can smoke get into a home even with a good filter installed?
Yes. Even with a dynamic filter or media cabinet, some smoke still gets in on heavy days, and it takes time for the furnace to cycle the air back to clean.
Full Transcript
Welcome to today’s episode of airing it out with Joe. Today we’re gonna be talking about how wildfire smoke gets into your home.A lot of people don’t realize we have these energy efficient homes that are now also airtight. The problem is, is we’re letting dogs out throughout the day where kids are coming in and out, we’re opening that garage and then opening the garage door. A lot of that smoke is ending up in the home.
Today we’re gonna be talking about solutions for you on how you can breathe healthier in your home and avoid that smoke.
First thing, we’re gonna talk about a static filters. The right above my hand, can’t you see him? Static filters are gonna be really great. So UV lights and regular filters like your media cabinets, they do great on filtering, but for smoke, you want something like a static filter.
That static filter uses 24 volt electric to send a electrical current through a filter and takes out that smoke. Those are gonna be really healthy for your breathing inside your home.
The second thing you’re gonna really wanna do is make sure that your filters are changed. Now I personally have media cabinets, kind of like this, where, what happens is you pull it out, they got a lot of surface area.
We’ll talk about these in a later episode, but you wanna make sure that your filters are staying clean, because if you’re not keeping these filters clean, you’re just all you’re doing is moving dirty air.
Third but not last, you really wanna limit how much you’re going outside on those very smoky days. We wanna make sure we’re not opening doors, we’re not opening garages as much as humanly possible. That way we’re not getting all that smoke coming into the home.
Cause even with stuff like a dynamic filter or your media cabinet, you’re still going to get smoke in the house. And it’s gonna take a little bit of time for that furnace to clean that air back up. So you really wanna limit how much you’re going outside. Wanna thank you guys for watching today