Low-Tech Air Filtration During Wildfires - What to pack in your "go" bag - Preparedness Tips

As many of our readers know, the west coast has recently been suffering from unprecedented wildfires and their accompanying smoke. Here is a short post with info on creating a low-tech air filter with a box-fan; What to include in a "go-bag"; and The 7 pillars of Urban Preparedness. We hope you find it helpful.

 

Smoky skies - 9-12-2020

Here is a short video on "How to make your own indoor air filter from a fan". Essentially they suggest attaching a furnace-filter to the back of a box-fan to filter indoor air. We didn't have access to furnace filters when the wildfires started so have been wetting terry-cloth hand towels, wringing them out thoroughly and hanging them on the back of our three box-fans in different rooms in the house. It has been working amazingly well! The towels dry out fairly quickly so we rinse them in a bucket, wring them out again and re-drape them on the fans every 1-2 hours. In the worst, first few days of the fires, the rinse-water was actually grey after each rinse!

 

Low-tech fan air-filter

We live in a 145 year-old farmhouse and suffered, at first, from considerable air-leaks around the doors of our front and back porches so we put towels along the lower edges of the doors and sectioned off the main rooms we live in with curtains to keep the majority of the smoke out of these rooms. This has worked really well.

Here is an article from the Portland newspaper - The Oregonian - with other tips on keeping indoor air cleaner: "Prevent wildfire smoke from entering your home: It’s OK to run air conditioners"

 

Moisten towel and put on back side.

One friend of ours who lives in northern California and had to evacuate her land for several days during wildfires down there says that "the silver-lining of all of this is that these fires are alerting people to the importance of having a "go-bag" already packed and on-hand, instead of waiting to the last minute." 

 

Whether you live in an environment that is prone to wildfires or hurricanes or other natural disasters that might precipitate the need to leave your home under short notice, here is a guide from the Natl. Weather Service of 15 things to include in your "go-bag".

 

For long-term Preparedness, for emergencies that require you to shelter in place for extended periods during weather-related emergencies or extended instances of social unrest, here is an article called "The 7 Pillars of Urban Preparedness" that outlines the important categories of preparedness to address before the crisis hits.

Be prepared. Help others.

We hope you find these tips and links helpful. Stay safe and be sure to help those around you to be prepared as well.