"There's a lot of gimmicky air purification systems out there, but for the purposes of particulate matter coming from smoke, any fan and filter will work," said Luke Montrose, assistant professor of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University. This includes homemade air purifying devices made from a box fan and a HVAC particulate air filter, he said. Montrose said these homemade purifying boxes are highly effective and cost-effective, but he cautioned that they can be easily damaged by pets or small children. If possible, he recommends investing in an air purifying machine.
Dr. Afif El-Hasan, an asthma and air quality expert with Kaiser Permanente Orange County, recommends people impacted by wildfires purchase an air purifier that is both HEPA certified and has a carbon filter. A HEPA device - which stands for high efficiency particulate air - can filter 99.97% of any airborne particles that are 0.3 microns or larger, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This will do a great job of filtering ash particles produced by the recent wildfire but will not clean chemicals from the air.
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