Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke

We’ve all seen that eerily orange sun or smelled campfire smoke in the middle of downtown. No, there’s not a bonfire going on in the city – wildfire season is here. And with it brings poor quality, smoky air that can drift thousands of kilometres away.

Health Concerns

Smoke can cause common symptoms such as eye irritation, runny nose, sore throat, mild cough and headaches. Smoke will affect each person differently depending on age, health and exposure. For people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), lung cancer or heart problems, smoke can cause shortness of breath, severe cough, dizziness, chest pain or heart palpitations. [Source – HealthLink B.C.] A study in the Journal of the American Heart Association has even linked wildfires to an increase in cardiac arrests.

How to Protect Yourself

Because it is so hard to keep outdoor air from getting inside a building, the very best way to protect yourself is to invest in a high quality filter and air purifier. Smoke particles are tiny (less than 2.5 microns), so make sure your filter can capture fine particle pollution known as PM2.5. We recommend the Ti-DOX HydroxylizAire as an air purifier because it destroys chemicals attached to smoke particles using a combination of cleaning technologies rather than relying on just a filter alone. Plus, it attaches to your furnace or HVAC system so it cleans your entire house automatically, not just one room at a time.

Other things you can do to protect yourself from wildfire smoke include:

• Close your windows and doors. This includes closing the door to the bathroom and laundry room as they often have ventilation ducts that lead outside.

• Shut your chimney flue.

• Clean often but avoid vacuuming as that will just spread particles around in your sealed house. Clean the floors with a lightly wet mop instead.

• If you have to spend time outdoors, consider wearing a smoke safe mask.

• Set your central air conditioning system to recirculate mode if possible.

How Does Ti-DOX Get Rid of the Smoke?

Ti-DOX is very different from portable air purifiers you might be familiar with. The Ti-DOX HydroxylizAire chamber actually attaches to your furnace or HVAC duct. As contaminated air enters the chamber, hydroxyl radicals begin destroying germs and other toxic chemicals attached to smoke particles. The air then passes back and forth along a UVC light, maintaining enough proximity, heat, dosage and exposure duration to clean germs in the air. That purified air is then sent throughout your entire home through the HVAC system.

If you’re ready to find out more about Ti-DOX, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us for a quote tailored to your home or business.