Wildfire Smoke Season Is Here: How to Keep It Out of Your Home

By Eric G | Around the House

After 35+ years in design and construction, I've watched wildfire season go from an occasional problem to something we plan around every single year here in the Pacific Northwest and across the country. When that smoke rolls in and the air quality index starts climbing, your home should be your clean air refuge. But here's the thing most people don't realize: your house is working against you in ways you'd never expect.

Let's fix that.

Stop Pulling Smoke Into Your House

This is the one that surprises everybody. When the air outside is thick with smoke, do not run your clothes dryer or your kitchen vent hood if you can avoid it.

Think about what those appliances actually do. Your dryer and your range hood are exhaust systems — they blow air out of your house. And here's the catch: every cubic foot of air they push out has to be replaced by air coming in. Your home isn't airtight, so that makeup air gets pulled in through every gap, crack, and penetration in your building envelope. During smoke season, that means you're actively vacuuming smoky outdoor air right into your living space.

Same goes for bathroom exhaust fans — use them briefly when you need them, then shut them off. Hold off on the laundry until the air clears, and skip the high-heat cooking that demands the vent hood. Your indoor air quality will thank you.

You're Tracking Smoke In With You

Smoke isn't just something you breathe — it's particulate matter that settles on everything it touches. That includes your clothes, your shoes, and your hair.

When you come in from outside during a smoke event, take your shoes off at the door and change your clothes. Those fine particles cling to fabric, and every time you sit on the couch or walk across the carpet in your outdoor gear, you're redistributing smoke residue throughout your home. Set up a landing zone by the door: shoes stay there, outdoor clothes go straight to the hamper (in a closed room, ideally), and if you've been out in it for a while, a quick shower knocks the particles out of your hair too.

This is the same advice I give clients dealing with allergens, and it works even better for smoke.

Get a Real N95 — They Actually Work

When you do have to be outside, wear a real N95 respirator or better. Not a bandana, not a surgical mask, not that dust mask from the bottom of your toolbox. A genuine NIOSH-approved N95 filters out at least 95% of airborne particles, including the fine PM2.5 particles in wildfire smoke that do the real damage to your lungs.

The fit matters as much as the filter. It needs to seal against your face — pinch that nose bridge, check for gaps. If you can smell smoke through it, you don't have a seal. And if you want to step up, a P100 respirator gives you even more protection for extended time outdoors.

A Few More Moves That Make a Big Difference

• Close up the house. Windows and doors stay shut. Check your weatherstripping — smoke season is when you find out exactly where your envelope leaks.
• Run your HVAC on recirculate. If your system has a fresh air intake, close it or set it to recirculate mode. You want to filter the air you already have, not import more smoke.
• Upgrade your filter. This is the time to put in a MERV 13 filter if your system can handle it. It'll capture a serious amount of that fine particulate. Just check with your HVAC pro first — some older systems can't handle the added resistance.
• Add a portable HEPA air purifier. Put one in the room where you spend the most time. Size it correctly for the square footage, and let it run continuously during smoke events. If the smoke is bad, designate one room as your "clean room" — purifier running, doors closed, and that's where the family hangs out.
• Don't add to the problem. Skip the candles, the incense, the fireplace, and the pan-searing while the air quality is bad. Anything that generates particles indoors is making your air purifier work harder.
• Watch the AQI. Check AirNow.gov or your local air quality monitoring so you know when it's safe to open things back up and flush the house with fresh air. When that window comes, take it — open up, run the fans, and reset your indoor air.

The Bottom Line

Wildfire smoke season isn't going anywhere, so build these habits now. Keep the exhaust fans off, leave the smoke at the door, filter what you've got, and mask up properly when you head out. Your lungs — and your family's — are worth the effort.

Stay safe out there, and breathe easy.