Official insights from Public Health – Seattle & King County staff

Welcome to the Public Health Crafter’s Corner: Wildfire Smoke Edition! Sadly, wildfire smoke is a near-annual event with the hotter, drier summers we’re getting (see Climate Changes Health). No amount of clever crafting can turn back the climate, but this simple D.I.Y. project can make the smoky days a little more bearable and safe.

When it gets smoky outside, try to stay inside as much as possible. This is true for everyone, but especially for children, people over 65, anyone with a health condition (like diabetes, heart disease, or asthma), and pregnant people.

It’s also important to keep the air inside as clean as possible so that your lungs can get a break. If you can, create a “clean room” as a refuge from pollution. Heat can be even more dangerous than pollution, so if it’s smoky and hot, you may need to open a window occasionally to cool it down–that’s when a “clean room” makes a huge difference.

One way to keep the air cleaner is by using an air purifier or air filter fan. And it turns out that you can easily make this at home in just 1 minute! Our friends at Puget Sound Clean Air Agency tested out DIY fan filters and found that they dramatically reduce fine particles and black carbon from the air!

Puget Sound Clean Air Agency shows how to make a DIY air filter fan by drilling holes into a fan and screwing brackets to hold a filter. It works great and looks tidy (definitely Martha Stewart would do it this way), but frankly, when I see that drilling is involved, I’m just not going to do it. But my local hardware store gave me a great tip to make it SUPER easy (and our Environmental Health Services division also gave it a thumbs up).

And that’s it! You can also use duct tape instead of a bungee cord.

*Public health tip from our staff: make sure the bungee cord is long enough, or use multiple bungee cords, so that the cord doesn’t stretch too tightly, recoil, and snap you in the face! We public health professionals do think of all the hazard angles.

If you want to maximize the air filtering, here are a couple of options (also easy!):

We have more information about how you can be prepared for wildfire smoke season: kingcounty.gov/wildfiresmoke

Originally published on July 16, 2021, republished on August 4, 2022.

I am a risk communications specialist at Public Health - Seattle & King County.

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For more King County resources on COVID-19, please visit: kingcounty.gov/covid