Wildfire Smoke & Smoky-Air Days
Spot it
A hazy sky or the smell of smoke, an air-quality alert from your local agency, or a smoke plume on the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map near you.
Fix it
AirNow's 'Be Smoke Ready' page (https://www.airnow.gov/wildfires/be-smoke-ready/) lists children and teenagers among the groups most at risk from wildfire smoke. Check the Fire and Smoke Map or the AirNow app before outdoor play, and sign up for local air-quality alerts. AirNow's 'Be Smoke Ready' guidance is to make a clean air room: a portable air cleaner run continuously on its highest fan speed, plus high-efficiency HVAC filters rated MERV 13 or higher. This is a seasonal, regional issue; most homes can skip it in most weeks.
Safer swaps
What actually fixes this — the category to look for, not a brand we were paid to name.
Check the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map before outdoor play on hazy daysHabit
Free; AirNow's first step
On smoky days keep windows and doors closed and move play indoorsHabit
Free; common smoke-day advice, not on the AirNow page we read
Sign up for local air-quality alertsHabit
Free; AirNow advises state, local or tribal alerts
Portable air cleaner sized for one 'clean air' room
AirNow: run continuously on the highest fan speed
MERV 13 or higher filter for the home's HVAC system
AirNow recommends MERV 13 or higher; check that your system can take it
Our picks for this
The products we would buy for this are in our air quality guide.