Health & Wellness Blog

You don’t need to wait until New Year’s Day to adopt new, healthier behaviors. While January 1 is the traditional date for making resolutions, consider using the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) — this year, November 5 — as the date you begin easing into new routines. Think of the end of DST as an annual opportunity to reset your clocks and start resetting your habits.

Focus First on Your Home

Start sensibly. Committing yourself to, say, getting into peak physical shape during the holiday season isn’t always realistic and might not be fun for you or those around you trying to enjoy pie. A more reasonable undertaking would be to establish a routine for creating and maintaining a cleaner and healthier home environment.

Sticking to a schedule and completing specific, predetermined tasks throughout the year would be less stressful than trying to drop a few pounds in a hurry, producing immediate, appreciable results.

Make Breathing Cleaner, Fresher Air a Habit

Dust is one of a healthy home’s biggest enemies. It accumulates sneakily and steadily over months in places your usual dusting and vacuuming doesn’t reach. Not to mention, it doesn’t look great either! In addition to floors (including carpets and rugs) and window coverings (drapes, curtains, shades, and blinds), be sure to vacuum furniture, light fixtures, ceilings, stairs, guest rooms, and anywhere your pets like to lounge. Seasonal cleaning needs to be more thorough because it’s less frequent.

Dust is your enemy. HEPA filtration is one of your most powerful allies. Vacuuming kicks up many microscopic airborne allergens and particles in addition to dust: pollen, pet dander, dust mite debris, and smoke.

If your vacuum isn’t catching it, you and your guests could be breathing it. (And some of your guests might suffer from allergies.) Honeywell Air Purifiers feature HEPA filtration and are engineered to capture 99.97 percent of airborne particles 0.3 microns and larger of the air that passes through the filter.

Your new habit: Replacing air purifier filters on the manufacturer’s recommended schedule, starting now.

Create Some Breathing Room

Declutter now before it gets too cold. Take a look inside your closets. Donate anything you don’t wear. A coat you haven’t worn in years can keep someone else warm during winter months. Review what has piled up in the garage. Give old items new lives. Donate, recycle, and upcycle.

You might be alarmed by how much dust you stir up as your deep cleaning continues. Let an effective air purifier do what it was designed to. For the best performance from Honeywell Air Purifiers in your home, replace indoor air filters with genuine Honeywell Air Purifier Filters. Giving yourself peace of mind is a habit worth forming.

Start a New Year With New Habits in Place

Make this thorough cleaning an annual event — put it on your calendar — and you’ll enjoy a healthier environment year-round. Get a head-start on refreshing your home and your habits when Daylight Saving Time ends on November 5.

April showers bring May flowers. Spring is here and so are…allergens. While everyone around you continues to giddily await spring, as an allergy sufferer, you may know a different reality. Spring represents a time of the year where blossoms might also equal blowing your nose. Retreating to the confines of your house might lead to relief, but did you know your spring cleaning can make your home more comfortable? Read on to learn about some surprising ways that a few extra steps in spring cleaning can actually help with spring allergies.

Replace Air Filters

While all of us know cleaning out a closet is synonymous with early spring cleaning, adding filter changes into your scheduled activities is even more impactful for your allergies. Clean HVAC filters, especially those with the right MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value), are unseen powerhouses that help keep your entire home clean. Similarly, it’s vital to change your air purifier filter every 3-12 months, depending on the filter type. Swapping out for a furnace filter like a Honeywell High Efficiency Allergen Filter, with a MERV of at least 11, helps to provide superior residential air quality. And don’t forget the filter in your vacuum if you have one. If you don’t, consider purchasing a vacuum with a replaceable or cleanable high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter. Give that filter a quick check to make sure your vacuuming is not also agitating your symptoms or kicking dust and dirt back into the air.

Hidden Allergens

The relief you get from sorting through your possessions and reducing clutter isn’t just a mental one. Those extra surfaces are also sneaky holders of dust particles and pet dander. For each piece of soft surface, high crevice, or high-pile pillows you store in your home, you’re storing extra agitators to your allergies. If you know you’re not going to bring that pillow back into rotation, consider donating it rather than storing it. It might also be time to do a quick once over to décor you have on display, as well. If you don’t love it, think about minimizing overall. Or do a design refresh and introduce some sleeker, more modern, looking pieces. You’ll be doing yourself a favor — making your regular cleaning easier, and tackling places where allergens hide.

Using an Air Purifier

You’ve gotten through everything. Every closet, drawer, and baseboard has been sorted and wiped down. Wouldn’t it be great if the hard work you just put in could be extended even further? Well, it can be! With the right air purifier you can capture up to 99.97% of the following microscopic airborne allergens and particles: dust, pollen, pet dander, dust mite debris and smoke¹. Honeywell Air Purifiers provide options for every sized room, and are an easy way to reduce allergens in your home. By trapping the source of allergy symptoms before they even settle into your rooms for good, air purifiers like the compact and streamlined Honeywell Designer HEPA Tower can help do the dirty work so you don’t have to.

Remember: Follow manufacturers recommendations for replacing the filters in your air purifiers, too. Ensuring the filter is correctly sized and installed in the air purifier housing is a way of getting the most out of your unit.

Minimize Discomfort

People with seasonal allergies may find extra relief through spring cleaning; the steps you take can have lasting effects that keep you comfortable in your home all spring long. And as always, be thoughtful about the way you clean, not just what you clean. Start high and go low, clean less frequently but more thoroughly to keep the dust from blowing up, and use a damp cloth to keep overall dust down.

¹ From the air that passes through the filter, 0.3 microns and larger

It’s a sad fact: Some of our favorite foods produce other people’s least-favorite smells. Ironically, some of those smells overwhelm us too. Compare how you feel about smelling popcorn at a movie theater with the scent lingering in your office all afternoon after a coworker microwaves a bag.

Well, you’ll be happy to know there’s no need to give up the pungent foods you love! With a little help and know-how, you can manage food smells — good, bad, and what-is-that? — wherever you live, work, and eat.

1. Read this if you’re hooked on cooking fish.

Don’t blame fish. Fish smell fine when they’re alive. It’s when they’re dead that a “fishy” odor emerges and escalates quickly. The longer a fish is dead, the stronger it smells. (Don’t buy or eat fish giving off a powerful stench. It’s likely not fresh and may be going bad.)

There are kitchen tricks to reign in raw fish smell — washing fish with water, treating it with lemon or milk — but we’re here to talk about managing a post-meal aroma.

Say you just enjoyed a home cooked dinner for one of wild-caught black cod. (Generally, diners find ocean-going fish like cod smellier than their freshwater counterparts.) Though the cod wasn’t on the stove very long, it perfumed the house in a way you know will offend your housemate’s senses.

Can you salvage this situation? Yes, with the help of an air purifier! HEPA air purifiers can help reduce odors in your home — but make sure your unit includes a filter with activated carbon, as this is a key component of odor removal.

2. Last one in is a rotten egg.

Rotten eggs are famously stinky. You can, however, do a good egg wrong and cause it to smell bad. All it takes is boiling one for too long to unleash a sulfur smell that will be long remembered and discussed. (Your place will smell like a hot spring.)

Let a Honeywell air purifier help clean and freshen your indoor air for you.

3. Don’t be afraid to say cheese.

Cooking fish or boiling eggs requires heat. Hot foods waft aromas into the air.

What about smelly cheeses? Many beloved cheeses don’t need to be made into warm fondue or raclette to emit a powerful punch.

Some varieties are perfectly stinky at room temperature. For example, the aromas of washed-rind cheeses like Limburger and Tallegio and blue cheeses like Gorgonzola and Stilton can invade a space without the help of heat.

Though the odors can be strong, and others’ reactions can be even stronger, don’t shortchange your sophisticated palate. Enjoy a second helping from your well-curated cheese platter while a Honeywell HEPA air purifier helps with the funk.

4. Eat your veggies.

Bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower. The list of cruciferous vegetables is long and wide-ranging. Which is great because there’s something for everyone, and they’re really, really good for your health.

Surprisingly, the sulfurous smell (sound familiar?) they give off isn’t necessarily the result of cooking. A seasoned chef will recommend chopping cruciferous veggies and letting them rest before cooking them to lessen their odor-causing properties. Cooking will then tame the smell even more.

But if your uncle’s recipe for cabbage soup requires leaves to be boiled intact, consider adding an optional Honeywell enhanced odor-reducing air purifier filter. Just a note though, that these filters are not compatible with all Honeywell air purifier models!

5. Fermentation is sweeping the nation.

Fermented foods are ones that people have intentionally allowed microbes to grow on. It’s microbial magic that turns cabbage into sauerkraut. Fermentation has been in practice for centuries. And it turns out that fermentation can not only make foods taste better, but it can make them healthier to consume.

Win-win, right? Well, fermented foods’ aromas can cause controversy. So before you reheat that delicious kimchi fried rice, ensure your air purifier is up and running.

Clear the table, not the room.

Life’s too short to eat only bland foods! Don’t throw your hands in the air or your favorite foods out the window. Get a Honeywell HEPA air purifier. It’ll become an important kitchen companion.

Your home’s indoor air probably smells fine to you and the rest of your household — even if it isn’t fine. That’s because humans lose sensitivity to odors the longer we’re exposed to them. Woe to the first-time visitor greeted by a funky aroma upon crossing your threshold.

Don’t wait until a downright foul smell rears its head so fiercely that even you scrunch your face. It’s time to go on the offensive. Read on to learn about the top three sources of nasty home odors and why an air purifier with a HEPA filter and carbon pre-filter should be your weapon of choice for keeping the air inside your home fresh, clean, and healthy.

Culprit #1: Your Kitchen

The same kitchen that enables you to create delightfully fragrant meals can also host your home’s most pungent odors. Warm temperatures, moisture, and oxygen quickly take their toll on organic matter like meat scraps in trash cans, overripe fruit on counters, or expired dairy in fridges.

A Honeywell air purifier with a HEPA filter and activated carbon is a logical addition to any kitchen. It’s engineered to reduce the microscopic airborne particles related to odors, volatile organic compounds, gasses, and chemicals. Air purifiers with HEPA and carbon filters circulate filtered and fresher-smelling air back into your kitchen.

Kitchen areas that produce unwanted odors:

• Trash can
• Fridge, freezer
• Sink and disposal
• Stove, oven, microwave
• Counters

Back up your air purifier’s efforts by preventing bad kitchen smells as much as you can. Place a scented dryer sheet in the bottom of your trash can. Empty your fridge and countertops of goods that are past their prime. Put the appropriate organic scraps to good use with a compost bin.

Use baking soda and white vinegar to clean your kitchen. They’re natural, inexpensive, tried-and-true cleaning products that can tame tough scents.

Culprit #2: Your Bathrooms

Bathrooms don’t have to smell bad! If yours does, don’t hang the blame on your toilet bowl too quickly. Not enough air circulating through a small, humid room is a recipe for mold and mildew.

Common bathroom offenders:

• Toilets
• Dirty clothes (especially workout wear), towels
• Mold and mildew

Remember to wash sweaty clothing and towels immediately. If that’s not possible, air them out in larger spaces without humidity or outside, until you can wash them. No one enjoys that locker room smell.

Mold and mildew can form on more bathroom surfaces than you want to contemplate. (Mildew is the start of a mold colony.) Because mold can compromise the health of sensitive or allergic household members, it’s vital to deal with it properly.

To clean mold and mildew — and rid yourself of the associated odors — baking soda and white vinegar are reliable allies. Bleach, too, is an effective mold remover.

Culprit #3: Your Pets

No one wants to point the finger at a beloved pet. Yet, a furry friend can contribute to the “character” of your indoor air.

Honeywell air purifiers to the rescue! HEPA air purifier machines shine whether operating in small rooms or large spaces.

Pet-related odor sources:

• Cat litter
• Urine, vomit
• Food and water bowls
• Beds, blankets
• Carpets, rugs

And odors aren’t Fido’s only indoor air pollutants. Molecules from pet saliva, urine, and dander (dead skin cells) can linger in the air, irritating members of your household with allergies.

Let a HEPA air purifier trap airborne particles while you clean up after your furry family members. Washing food and water bowls daily, as you would your own, is an easy place to start. Ditto for laundering your animals’ blankets on the same schedule you use for your own.

Foam shaving cream and a little warm water can make quick work of tough stains and smells. And vacuuming on the regular — using a vacuum with HEPA filtration — just makes sense.

A Clean-Smelling Home Is Easy-Breezy

We spend up to 90% of our time indoors. For a more pleasant for household members, guests, and pets, cleaner indoor air matters.

Want to know where to buy Honeywell air purifiers for any size room, plus replacement HEPA filters? Click here!

Isn’t it funny how a whiff of a smell brings you back to a place instantly? You remember every detail from a space you thought was a distant memory. It turns out that our olfactory senses are actually far more effective at generating accurate and detailed memories than even a visual sense. So, it’s no wonder we’re highly sensitive to the kind of scent profile we create in our own homes. It’s important to us that our nests evoke the kind of emotions and impressions we’re trying to create, just as much as the color we paint on our walls.

If you think it’s impossible to lasso a scent and make it our own, think again! Read on for a few great ideas on how you up the ante and make what your house smells like, speak for you.

Light Candles

This is the most obvious trick of the trade: Invest in high-quality candles that speak to your personality. Would you rather be in the garden? Look for green scents that feature lavender, mosses, green tea or other fresh fragrances. Known as a rustic person? Patchouli, ember, citrus and spice are all warm and earthy scent profiles. Have a light and breezy demeanor? You might try some ocean scents like coconut mixed with a light balsam and citrus blend.

Before you decide to burn a candle in your house, do consider what they’re made of first. Otherwise, you might introduce toxic particles along with that favorite scent into your home. Do your research, but some of the best options are soy, bees, and coconut wax-based candles.

Clean Your Air

If you want to really take on the scent of your home, you’ll need to do more than add the scent you want. You need to also remove the scents you don’t. This is where an air filtration system that uses a carbon filter comes in, like the Honeywell Designer HEPA Tower for Medium/Large Rooms. Selecting an air purifier with a carbon filter is key here, as the activated carbon helps reduce household odors like those from pets, cooking, and smoke. Honeywell Air Purifiers are compact and quiet, helping to capture up to 99.97% of the following microscopic airborne allergens and particles 0.3 microns or larger from the air that passes through the filter: dust, dust mite debris, smoke pet dander and pollen. The Designer Series also comes with an essential oil tray, allowing you to both remove the odors and introduce your own personal fragrances. Bonus: this air filtration system also comes with an automatic cleaning mode, determining the right level of clean you might need. It does the thinking, so you don’t have to!

Wash (All) Your Textiles

The less desirable smells in your home tend to linger where you don’t see them: in textiles. The fibers on your favorite pillow can often create a home for the bacon you cooked last week. But before you decide to overhaul the pile height of your carpet and the number of blankets on your couch, start a habit of cleaning one overlooked fabric a month. Clean the carpet in your living room one month, and then toss blankets and pillow covers in the wash the next. Beautiful sunny day in the summer? Hang your curtains out on a clothesline to air out. You’ll be amazed at how alive your space becomes with an easy cleaning schedule.

The next time you worry guests might leave with a bad scent memory of your home, rest assured: you have nothing to fear! With the right fragrance profile, a small but mighty air filtration system like the Honeywell HEPA Tower, and some simple cleaning steps, you can be confident your home’s scent is saying all the right things about you.

Pop quiz: Which adjective best describes your dorm room or apartment’s aroma?

A. Fresh
B. Funky
C. Formidable
D. It’s complicated

Straight talk: “A” is the only reasonable answer to this question. What if a date asks to check out your place? Don’t you want it to smell fresh, clean, and worthy of another visit?

Use this map as your guide on your journey to freshness.

What to do about food odors

Your overpriced burrito smelled great when it was delivered last night. The remnants this morning? Not so much. Ditto last week’s pizza boxes on the kitchen counter and under the coffee table.

Cleaning up immediately after feasting is an odor-prevention must. This means taking out the trash and recycling — extra credit if you compost — and doing any dishes. However, smells linger. Sure, you can scrub the floor super-clean, but you still need help scrubbing your indoor air.

Get yourself an air purifier. Seriously. An effective air purifier, like a Honeywell air purifier, quietly cleans and recirculates a room’s air several times an hour. The right air purifier sucks in dirty air, filters it to capture microscopic airborne particles like smoke, pet dander, dust, and dust mite debris, and returns cleaner air to your room 4.8 times per hour.

When shopping for an air purifier that will be most effective, look for one that uses activated carbon that is engineered to reduce not only odors, but dust, pollen, pet dander, VOCs (volatile organic compounds, gasses, or chemicals emitted from household products), and smoke. It’s vital to remember to replace your carbon pre-filters every 3 months for optimal odor reduction.

Additional odor-busting kitchen tips:

• Toss expired foods and wipe up spills in your fridge.
• Clean the inside of your microwave.
• Work wonders on a stinky garbage disposal with baking soda and white vinegar.

How to deal with smelly clothes

Your new workout shoes look cool, but the scents they’re tracking indoors aren’t doing you any favors. And, you know, you sweat in shoes, socks, workout clothes, and your regular clothes.

Fortunately, there are air purifiers perfect for small bedrooms, extra-large living rooms, and sizes in between. Let Honeywell air purifiers expertly refresh your room’s air while you observe these bedroom best practices:

• Let sweaty items breathe. Don’t leave damp shoes in your gym bag, or put moist workout shorts in the hamper — air out wet clothing.
• Wash dirty clothes promptly. Look into how white vinegar can rescue pieces with persistent odors.
• Vacuum rugs, sofas, and chairs. Ensure your air purifier is running while you vacuum to capture stirred-up particles you don’t want to breathe.

Ultimately, the thing to remember is that there is no shortcut to a clean-smelling dorm: In order to smell clean, it must be clean, and that includes having cleaner air.

Exercise regularly. Eat a balanced diet. Stay hydrated. Practice mindfulness. Whew!

We’re exposed to a lot of self-care advice these days. But we’re also so busy that the prospect of adding something we’re not doing to our plates — even if it’s for our own good — can feel overwhelming.

There’s no doubt that self-care is beneficial. How can you squeeze it into your day-to-day? By establishing routines.

How to help clean the air you breathe indoors.

We spend 90 percent of our time indoors. Consequently, we pay attention to our indoor comfort. We have the thermostat to ensure we’re not too hot or cold. We should think at least as much about the quality of the air we’re breathing in our own homes.

Whereas a thermostat manages indoor temperature, air purifiers are devices designed to manage indoor air quality. Honeywell air purifiers use a fan to suck in dirty air, force the dirty air through a filter that captures certain microscopic airborne allergens and particles (smoke, pet dander, dust, dust mite debris), and return cleaner, fresher air to the room.

Homes can contain air that is five times worse than outdoor air — especially if you have an energy-efficient, tightly constructed home that can traps pollutant inside. Your house’s air could contain dust, pollen, pet dander, VOCs (volatile organic compounds, gasses, or chemicals emitted from various household products), smoke, and different odors.

Once you put air purifiers in the rooms of your choice, your routine is a simple one. Change air purifier filters when indicated. Make your routine even more effortless by keeping Genuine Honeywell Filters on hand.

Air purifiers increase house cleaning effectiveness.

To turn your usual house cleaning into a routine, put it on a calendar. Vacuuming carpets and rugs every Saturday morning won’t slip to one Saturday a month if you have a reminder in place. The same goes for dusting, cleaning bathrooms, and other must-dos.

Vacuuming and dusting are sure to send microscopic particles like dust and allergens — like smoke, pet dander, dust, dust mite debris — airborne. Make the second part of this routine, ensuring that your air purifiers run in rooms while you’re cleaning to help minimize breathing these pollutants.

Make cleaning a family affair.

Share your insights into how cleaning is a form of self-care with your household. Your roommate, partner, or kids will undoubtedly notice the regularity of your new routines. Inspire them to participate in your routines and to adopt their own.

Your pets probably won’t assist, but you’re picking up their slack: Your Honeywell air purifier is helping to capture their dander.

Take self-care to heart this new year.

A little self-care goes a long way. All you need are simple routines. And a little help doesn’t hurt. If you can’t recruit additional hands, take heart knowing that your Honeywell air purifiers will always do their part to keep your home’s air fresher and cleaner all year long.

If you ran a finger along the top of the fridge or your child’s bedroom bookcase, how much dust do you think you’d discover, hypothetically? (Don’t actually do this. Read on to find out why.) If you have no idea how much dust might be up there, it’s probably a lot.

This isn’t to dust-shame anyone. It's easy to overlook something that perpetually accumulates in out-of-sight areas, as well as gradually right under your nose. Keep in mind that dust isn’t just unappealing to the eye or gross to think about. Breathing the dust inside your home can be unhealthy for household members.

What is dust made of?

Dust can be made up of dead skin cells, dust mite droppings, and dust mite body fragments — yikes! Let’s check out this statement’s components and implications more closely:

• Dead skin cells: Each of us sheds around 1.5 grams of dead skin flakes daily.
• Dust mite droppings and body fragments: Dust mites in your home, feeding on your dead skin flakes, can produce these triggers for allergy sufferers.

Because we spend up to 90% of our time indoors, you can see how a dust mite-friendly and allergy or asthma-unfriendly environment is sustained. And we’re only talking about dust here. Pollen, pet dander, smoke, odors, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds, gasses, or chemicals that a variety of household products emit) also pollute the air inside a house.

How can breathing household dust harm my family’s health?

It might sound scary, but don’t panic. Just keep an eye out for these dust mite debris allergy symptoms in members of your household:

• Sneezing
• Runny nose
• Itchy, red, or watery eyes
• Nasal congestion
• Itchy nose, roof of mouth, or throat
• Postnasal drip
• Cough
• Facial pressure and pain
• Swollen, blue-colored skin under your eyes
• In a child, frequent upward rubbing of the nose

What can I do to fight dust and keep my family healthy?

Let’s start with what not to do: Don’t dust your house the old-fashioned way. Leave feather dusters in the past where they belong. Cleaning methods that stir up dust should sound like a bad idea to you by now.

Three steps for cleaning your indoor air.

Step 1: Place effective air purifiers in high-traffic rooms and spaces where allergy sufferers spend time. Air purifiers help capture and reduce dust in your home’s air. An air purifier acts as a dust filter for a room.

What makes an air purifier effective? Choose a device with certified HEPA filtration or highly effective electronic filtration. Honeywell Air Purifiers employ filtration technologies to reduce dust in any room in your house.

Also, consider the CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) when comparing devices. The CADR tells you how effectively the air purifier will clean and circulate air in a room of the size it’s recommended for.

You’ll breathe easy knowing that third-party testing and verification shows that Honeywell air purifiers help clean and circulate the air in a room 4.8 times per hour. That’s a remarkable 115 times per day.

Step 2: After turning on the air purifiers in your selected rooms, use a clean, damp microfiber cloth to wipe down surfaces gently. As much as possible, don’t stir up dust; you’ll send it airborne. Dust isn’t always easy to see, so be thorough with your cleaning.

Make sure the cloth is damp — with water — and not wet. A wet cloth can turn dust into a sludge-y mess. Wear a mask and gloves if it’s a seriously messy situation or you’re sensitive to dust. You’ll knock dust and other debris to the floor as you go. Perfect.

Step 3: Vacuum each room’s floor. Using a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filtration would be ideal. All that dust and debris you knocked onto the floor from shelves, your stationary ceiling fan blades, the tops of the fridge and cabinets, and elsewhere, is conveniently waiting to be vacuumed up. Then mop uncarpeted floors.

Make a clean break with dust.

A house doesn’t need to be visibly dusty to trouble family members and visitors suffering from allergies. Dust likely lurks in crevices and corners of even picture-perfect homes. Don’t let dust get the better of you.

Put air purifiers in the rooms that need them. Choose effective devices with air filters for dust. For additional comfort and confidence, shop for Honeywell air purifiers that employ pre-filters to reduce VOCs. Most Honeywell air purifiers are backed with a 5-year warranty. Honeywell air purifiers are your trusted partner in the fight against dust and other airborne particles.

You love your pet. But sometimes your pet doesn’t love you back, and they don’t even know it. Sneezing, runny nose, coughing and the itchiest eyes you’ve ever experienced. The culprit? Pet dander. That unfortunate trait our furry and feathered friends bring with them. What’s worse? Unlike other allergens, pet dander has a unique shape that makes it stick around a lot longer than you even realized. 

But before you banish your favorite four-legged or winged companion to a life of living outside, or determine pets aren’t for your family, there are options to consider for minimizing the effects of pet dander. It starts with understanding your body’s reaction to dander, taking simple steps to reduce dander, and introducing simple solutions that do the work for you. 

What is pet dander, and why the allergy symptoms?

Just like humans, our pets are constantly shedding dead skin cells. While this is a sign of a healthy animal, it does cause some issues for those with dander sensitivities. Your body is built to reject anything they see as a foreign substance, and for many — that means pet dander. Your body produces antibodies that attack allergens when they see them as a threat. Even when they’re not. It’s this autoimmune response that results in the symptoms we know as allergic reactions. That means, in order to decrease your symptoms — you need to decrease the thing that’s causing them. 

What Actions Can I Take?

With a little effort, we can keep these allergens to a minimum by creating a cleaner environment and limiting exposure. Having a consistent routine will go a long way to control these surface-level allergens. 

Consider your space and how you decorate.

Pet dander is easily trapped, so eliminating places for it to hide is the first step in designing a space that works for you and your family. Carpeting, soft surfaces, decor with extra crevices, and high-pile accent pillows are all perfect spots for pet dander. Swap out for sleeker surfaces and fewer textiles, all simpler to clean and fight against pet dander staying in place. 

Designate your bedroom as pet-free.

While we love to have our animals in the bedroom, for those suffering with the most severe allergies, sleeping without your pet is an easy way to help minimize your symptoms. When your pet sleeps with you, their dander gets into the bedding, the same bedding we often pull around our faces. Or, as is the trait of many felines, they attempt to get closer to you by sleeping near your face and on your pillow. By keeping your bedroom for humans only, you increase your chances of a sneeze-free night of peaceful sleep. 

Create a cleaning schedule that is easy to follow.

Minimizing dander on surfaces means establishing a routine of common household cleaning. Vacuuming, mopping, dusting and regularly doing laundry are all part of a healthy solution for reducing allergy symptoms. Creating a regular schedule helps to ensure the habit is an easy one to establish. 

• Daily: Vacuum hard surfaces using a high-efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter vacuum, and especially focus on heavy pet traffic areas where a lot of play happens. If your pet has bedding in common spaces, give it a once over with the vacuum as well. Consider the materials of your pet’s bed, and look for easy to clean options so this isn’t a chore.
• Weekly: Keep up with your laundry and remember any clothing items you might have been wearing while close to your pet. Regularly wash any blankets or towels used by or with your pets, and don’t overlook any soft surface toys they might regularly play with. Swap in laundry detergent that is labeled as anti-allergen. Dust hard surfaces throughout your home, using a microfiber cloth to capture the most dust particles. For heavy use areas, mop after a thorough vacuum or sweeping.
• Monthly: Address any out of the way spaces that aren’t regularly dusted, vacuumed, or mopped. Create a habit of working your way through your house, staying on top of dust that might collect on baseboards and other out of sight surfaces. 

Regularly bathe and groom your pet.

Within the guidelines set for your pet’s breed, a regular bathing calendar helps minimize the amount of dander a pet releases by containing it to your bathtub, sink, or outside. For dogs and cats, it also helps to brush their fur either daily for longhaired breeds, or weekly for shorter hair. It’s critical to understand your breed’s needs, however, to ensure your pet’s skin remains healthy and doesn’t get overly dry – dry skin can create even more dander. 

Wash your hands frequently.

As you interact with your pet, washing your hands directly after rinses off any pet dander that might cling to your hands and eventually interact with your eyes, nose and skin. This also has the added benefit of keeping other illnesses at bay.

How Can Your House Do the Work for You?

While efforts to minimize dander on surfaces is important, this still doesn’t tackle the pet dander found in the air itself. An air purifier system from Honeywell is a stress-free way to take this on. Compact, portable units are the perfect option for your home. 

How do Honeywell Air Purifiers dependably tackle pet dander?

Setting up an air purifier that uses HEPA filtration helps clear the air of sensitive allergens. Founded on over 25 years of excellence, Honeywell Air Purifiers like those in the Allergen Plus, InSight®, PowerPlus and Designer Series help capture up to 99.97% of microscopic airborne allergens and particles 0.3 microns or larger. At 4.8 room air changes per hour, as independently tested and AHAM Verifide for Clean Air Delivery Rate, you can be confident that your air is effectively circulating and decreasing symptom-causing pet dander particles.

The Honeywell Designer Series HEPA Tower is a powerful indoor air purifier with a  filter that  gets it all done at a sound level just above a whisper, due to the UltraQuiet Technology with Sleep Mode that allows running at only 32dB. This makes it a great air purifier for pet allergies. And as an added bonus, you’ll notice a reduction in odors for a fresher smelling home overall. 

Change your filters. It’s always important to follow a calendar and change your filters in your HVAC system and your air purifier, as based on the recommendations for your model. Use Honeywell Air purifiers with optional enhanced odor filters, like the Pet Odor Filter. These specially formulated filters have activated carbon and zeolite to help capture and absorb odors unique to pets. So even when you can’t get to your regular cleaning schedule, your HVAC and purifying systems can give you peace of mind that your home will still be a place of comfort for you and your pets. 

Explore Honeywell Air Purifies

References: 
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pet-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352192 

You’ll come across the terms “HEPA filter” and “pre-filter” when shopping for an air purifier. Understanding what these filters do will help you purchase an air purifier that will do the job you need. Let’s take an unfiltered look at air purifier filters.

Buy an Air Purifier With the Filtration You Need

Filters might be the most important parts of air purifiers. You want to be sure that your air purifier’s filters capture the airborne particles polluting your indoor air. You want filtration that captures pet dander, for example, if your child is allergic to it.

So, what are HEPA filters and pre-filters? How are they different? Do you need an air purifier with both? Let’s compare them.

You Want an Air Purifier with HEPA Filtration 

Air purifiers work by sucking in dirty air, forcing the air through a filter, and returning cleaner, fresher air to the room. Air purifiers that use high-efficiency particulate air filters — HEPA filters— are highly effective at capturing certain microscopic airborne non-living allergens and particles.

Honeywell InSight Series and Allergen Plus Series Air Purifiers use HEPA filters and are engineered to remove up to 99.97% of dust, pollen, pet dander, dust mite debris, smoke, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds, gasses, or chemicals emitted by a variety of household products) from your home’s air. 

HEPA filtration will help reduce your family’s exposure to these microscopic allergens and particles that infiltrate your home. Providing your household with cleaner, fresher air on an ongoing basis will give you peace of mind.

Pre-Filters Make a Significant Difference

Pre-filters may be the unsung heroes of air filtration: They’re the first line of defense against indoor pollution. Some pre-filters contribute more than you might think. They can deodorize air, capture larger airborne particles, and help extend your HEPA filter's life.

Air purifiers with pre-filters enable you to take more control of the air your loved ones and guests breathe. Honeywell activated carbon pre-filters can help deodorize a room’s air by trapping gasses and common household odors, like those from cooking and pets. An air purifier with HEPA filtration and pre-filtering gives you a formidable one-two punch.

Air Purifier Filters Demystified

You can make an informed air purifier purchase now that you know your pre-filters from your HEPA filters — and the powerful combination they make. 

Here are a few final tips for getting the best performance from a new air purifier: Choose an air purifier that suits the square footage of your room. You might need a tabletop air purifier for a room of 90 square feet and a console unit for an extra-large, 500 square foot space. 

Be sure to use genuine HEPA filters and pre-filters from your air purifier’s manufacturer, and change them according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. You’ll breathe a sigh of relief.

By Ted Myatt, Sc.D., Senior Environmental Scientist, Environmental Health and Engineering, Inc. 

If you’re allergic to pollen, you may get a break when the weather gets cold as pollen in outdoor air dissipates as the temperature cools. However, some people may experience allergy symptoms in the fall and winter as well. If this is you, you might be wondering why you are experiencing allergies in the winter when there’s seemingly no pollen in the air.

Why Can Allergies be Worse in the Fall and Winter?

Americans spend roughly 70% of their time indoors at home, with an even higher percentage in the winter¹. Therefore, the indoor environment in the home is likely to have a major impact on any allergy symptoms.  As the seasons shift to fall and winter, many homeowners transition to closing windows and turning on heating systems. By closing windows, the amount of outdoor air coming into the home is reduced². The result is allergens and pollutants can be trapped indoors, with concentrations found to be much higher than what one would find outdoors.

Allergens with indoor sources such as pet allergens and dust mites are also trapped inside during the winter. All of these allergens are exacerbated with less air circulation due to closed windows.

Some common indoor allergy triggers are:

• Dust mites debris. While their allergen containing droppings do not remain airborne long, they are aerosolized when you sit down on bedding or shake out blankets.
• Pets. Most people are not allergic to animal fur, but rather to a protein found in the cat and dog dander, saliva, and urine.

How can an air purifier help offer relief indoors?

Allergens and pollutants like smoke that can trigger allergies can be small particles that can remain airborne for long periods of time. Even allergens with larger particles (e.g., dust mite debris, pollen) can be captured by an air purifier when they are resuspended by fluffing pillows or sitting on a bed. Numerous studies have shown that the use of HEPA air purifiers can effectively reduce indoor air levels of these allergens, which in turn reduces exposure to these allergens.  

How do you get the most out of your air purifier? 

• Ensure the air purifier is appropriately sized for the room it is located in. Look for the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). CADR indicates the volume of filtered air an air cleaner delivers³. The CADR information for the air purifier will identify the appropriate size of room for the model. A good rule of thumb is the CADR of your air purifier should be equal to at least two-thirds of the room’s area.
• For maximum benefit, you should close the doors and windows of the room with the air purifier and run the air purifier where you spend the most time (for example, in the bedroom while you sleep).
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for replacement of filters and ensure the filter is correctly installed in the air purifier housing.
• Position the air purifier in an area free of obstructions. It doesn’t have to be in the middle of the room but it shouldn’t be flush against a wall or piece of furniture either. Be aware of where air is coming into the purifier and where purified air is released.

What else can you do to help minimize indoor allergens during colder months?

• Use an allergy-proof mattress and pillow covers
• Keep your bathroom clean and dry (replace moldy  shower curtains).
• Do a monthly check of trouble areas to ensure there is no damp areas of leaks (for example, under sinks and in the basement). If you do find leaks, make the repair and ensure the area is dry and free of mold growth.
• Ensure that fireplaces are well ventilated to avoid irritant smoke from entering the room. Additionally, make sure fireplace wood is dry. A special smoke filter used in an air purifier can also help reduce smoke odors and pollutants.
• Minimize or eliminate the use of candles and incense.
• Wash bedding regularly in hot water.
• If you have a furry pet that someone in the house is allergic to, don’t allow the pet to sleep in the room of the allergy sufferer. Additionally, using a filter designed to eliminate pet odor may help to ease symptoms.
• Use a HEPA vacuum routinely to remove settled allergens on floors and furniture.
• For homes with forced air heating or cooling, choose a filter with at least a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 13 rating, or as high a rating as your system can accommodate (4).

People with seasonal allergies don’t have to suffer all year: while different allergens may be present in the home during the cold and winter months, there are numerous steps that can be taken to help alleviate symptoms. An air purifier is a great way to improve the quality of air in your home during the colder seasons, creating a cleaner home for the winter, easing allergy symptoms along the way.

Learn more about the different types of air purifiers, and choose the right one for you.

[1] Klepeis N, Nelson W, Ott W, Robinson J, Tsang A, Switzer P, Behar J, Hern S, & Engelmann W. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants. J Exp Sci Environ Epidemiol, 2001. 11(3): p. 231-52.
[2] Wallace L, Emmerich S, Howard-Redd C. Continuous measurements of air change rates in an occupied house for 1 year: The effect of temperature, wind, fans, and windows. J Exp Sci Environ Epidemiol, 2002. 12: p. 296-306.
[3] Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). Air Filtration Standards. https://ahamverifide.org/ahams-air-filtration-standards/
[4] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Guide to Air Cleaners in the Home, 2nd Edition Portable Air Cleaners, Furnace and HVAC Filters. https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-07/documents/guide_to_air_cleaners_in_the_home_2nd_edition.pdf

We’ve all got that friend or family member. Take one step into their personal space, and you instantly know they’ve intentionally styled what you see. Their rooms are a vibe, full of energy and flow. You swear you’ve walked right into a magazine. We love these people in our lives who make our surroundings beautiful, and we want to give them gifts that reflect how much we recognize their passion. So, what to get? Read on for thoughtful ideas that celebrate how fond you are of who they are and how they see the world!

Design is Progressive and Complete: Gifts That Use What’s There

Interior designers look at a room from all the angles, and think about the space progressively. Textures, flow, variation, rhythm, color, lines, and light can all be at play when it comes to design choices. This means you have plenty of opportunities to find a great gift. Anything that layers into the existing palate is a welcomed addition — just pay attention to what is already there. A safe bet is to lean into this existing design, identifying a color or texture or line that is already in place. You now have a cheat sheet for finding something that will only further complement a style, be it through a unique tabletop piece or textiles like throws, pillows, or linens. After all, your loved one is basically telling you what they’d pick out for themselves — because they already have!

Design is Consistent: Gifts That Come as Sets

A simple gift can also come in the form of a set, which introduces continuity in an environment. Decorative bottles, luxury towels, or kitchen pieces are all wonderful options to consider. Take the kitchen, for example. Pulling together standard utensils and serving ware into a set allows a homeowner satisfaction knowing the look is consistent. A good option is OXO Cooking and Baking items. They make for a one stop shop where you can find everything from utensil sets to Glass Bake, Serve & Store sets.  

Design Removes Stress: Gifts for Organizing and Order

The best designed environments recognize that every part of the room – is part of the room. It’s not just what you see, but what you don’t see, that matters. Your interior designer knows finding smart ways to eliminate clutter increases calm and introduces much welcomed order. And when it comes to it, OXO Cleaning & Organization solutions are spot on. They offer lots of great options for gift giving, including clever food storage containers. Their POP technology creates an airtight seal while the streamlined aesthetic is perfect for the most updated of kitchens, both in the Good Grips and Steel collections. 

Design Everything: Gifts That Clean Air

Once everything is tucked away, we’re still left with an often-overlooked element of design. A designed experience is not only what you do and don’t see, but it’s also what you breathe. You can help your favorite designer level up this holiday with a sleek air purifier that does it all. Not only will The Honeywell Designer HEPA Tower for Medium/Large rooms create a space you and your guests can enjoy being in, filtered for dust and other non-living allergens, but it comes with a perfectly placed essential oils tray. This sleek air purifier packs a punch. It allows your interior designer a way to thoughtfully create a space where everyone can breathe easier, and allows stress-reducing and relaxing essential oil diffusion. All in one unit. 

Design Involves Resources: Gifts Go Digital

Today’s world also allows for lots of digital solutions when it comes to interior design. If you’re still not confident that you can pick the perfect gift, consider a subscription to any number of online platforms that bring a designer’s vision to life. You can find everything from color matching tools to virtual room designers. If you know someone with advanced skills that might be looking to design for others, you can always get them started with software that allows designing, drafting, and precision drawings to take design to the next level.

As you head into the holiday, be confident that your favorite interior designer is no longer an impossible task to shop for. You can show how much you appreciate them with an intentional gift that represents their intentional passions. 

When was the last time you enjoyed a full night of high-quality sleep? Without tossing and turning or disruptions? One in three American adults don’t get the minimum seven hours a night recommended for maintaining good health. 

Have you thought about the air quality in your home? Consider what an air purifier can do for your sleep. Indoor air can be five times more polluted than the air outdoors. Breathing dust, pollen, pet dander, dust mite debris, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) inside your house can reduce your family’s sleep quality – especially if any of you suffer from allergies. The right air purifier can help address these irritants that might be affecting your sleep.

How Air Purifiers Work

Allergens are carried into or generated by things inside your home. A pet, for example, coming in from the yard, could bring pollen and spread dander in every room it visits.  These tiny allergens can become airborne and are difficult to capture without an air purifier. 

Honeywell InSight™ Series and Allergen Plus Series air purifiers suck in dirty air using a fan which forces the air through a HEPA filter. It’s worth noting that Honeywell air purifiers have been independently tested and AHAM Verified® for Clean Air Delivery Rate. Improving your home’s air quality is an excellent way to set the stage for better sleep.

What To Look For in an Air Purifier 

Look for an air purifier that uses HEPA filters, as described above. If odors and smoke are household sleep disruptors, look for devices that use additional filters specially designed to remove them.

How big is the room where you’ll use the air purifier? Honeywell InSight™ Series and Allergen Plus Series devices range from tabletop air purifiers designed for use in small rooms up to 90 square feet to larger devices engineered for use in extra-large rooms up to 530 square feet.

Honeywell air purifiers feature UltraQuiet technology, with a Sleep Mode of only 32 decibels, which is very quiet. That small amount shouldn’t keep anyone from sleeping, and it may help those who appreciate a tiny bit of white noise.

Sleep Easier

A final thought: If breathing more comfortably at night is your key to better sleep, consider using a humidifier along with an air purifier. A humidifier can help keep your nose and throat hydrated, and temporarily relieve coughing, sinus irritation, and congestion caused by dry air. 

You and your family spend a lot of time inside your home. You deserve a comfortable indoor environment with cleaner air that helps you get the sleep you need. 

EXPLORE HONEYWELL AIR PURIFIERS AND HUMIDIFIERS

If you enjoy having house guests, you’re always looking for ways to make them comfortable in your home. Here’s a list of fresh ideas to inspire you, room by room! Try out the ones that complement your tried-and-true techniques. The perfect combination will result in comfortable guests and a happy host! 

Kitchen

1. Make welcome baskets. The more personal the goodies, the better. Stuff baskets with guests’ favorite childhood snacks. If you can’t find baskets, gift bags are no less pleasing when filled with treats that make guests’ hearts sing. Refrigerate perishables.

2. Keep dietary restrictions in mind when planning meals. Ask guests about sensitivities ahead of time if you’re unsure. They’ll appreciate it. Being unaware of a visitor’s peanut or seafood allergy could have serious consequences.

Bathroom

3. Fold plush bath towels into swans, spa-style. You’ll enjoy doing it, and guests will love posting them on Instagram. Minimal effort; maximum smiles!

4. A few travel-size fancy toiletries won’t break the bank and will make house guests feel special. Remind guests they’re theirs to take home.

5. Don’t forget about night lights. Guests, young and old, can get confused or hurt looking for the bathroom in a dark, unfamiliar house. 

Bedroom

6. If you’re hosting a bad sleeper, give them the bedroom with the window coverings that block out the most light. Controlling the amount of light in a room is a must for creating a sleep oasis — a bedroom equipped to promote restfulness and quality sleep. Well-rested guests are pleasant, energetic guests.

7. A sleeping mask is an inexpensive solution if an exceptionally dark room isn’t available. It turns any environment into a peaceful, light-free zone for the wearer. 

8. Controlling a bedroom’s nighttime temperature is another must-have for establishing a sleep oasis. Temperatures between 60 and 67 degrees F can create a better sleeping environment.  If your guest room or area runs a little too cool or too warm, consider a multi-funtional heater and fan, like the Honeywell VersaHeat 2-in-1 Heater + Fan.

9. A smart speaker, paired with smart plugs, will enable guests to control lights using voice commands from the comfort of their bed. 

10. Make a calming music playlist and furnish it to guests via the smart speaker.

11. A selection of books will please the literary-minded and those who fall asleep upon opening a book in soft light. 

12. Consider letting an air purifier do double duty for you. White noise helps some fall and stay asleep. And in addition to its tranquil, sleep-promoting UltraQuiet Technology, the Honeywell Designer Series HEPA Tower helps clean the air of dust and certain other non-living airborne allergens. It provides HEPA air purification for medium-large rooms, changing the air 4.8 per hour in rooms up to 190 square feet. After your guests return home, an air purifier will continue serving your household. 

13. Essential oils can help lift your mood. The Honeywell Designer Series HEPA Tower features an essential oil tray for optional aromatherapy.

14. A room’s humidity can be a vital contributor to occupants’ comfort. Sleeping with a humidifier’s moisture can temporarily relieve chapped lips and dry skin and keep nasal passages and throats hydrated. Honeywell Humidifier Ultrasonic technology offers quiet operation for peaceful sleep. Honeywell humidifiers can be used in bedrooms of all sizes.

15. Having dependable internet is required. While occasional digital detoxing is recommended, visitors might have to work online. Such is modern life. Be supportive. Want to be a hero? Have chargers available for guests’ phones — and maybe even a universal power converter-adapter for visitors from outside the U.S.

16. Leave a fresh pitcher of water and clean glassware on your guest’s nightstand to ensure they’re hydrated and have access to water to take any nighttime or morning medications. The PUR PLUS 7 Cup Pitcher is a sleek option for great-tasting water. 

Living Room

17. Plan quiet time for the house during sleeping hours, kids’ naps, or if you or a guest are remote-working. 

18. Child-proof the house. Stow precious breakables. Cover your swimming pool securely. And feel secure.

19. Have pets? Vacuum dander and other microscopic, airborne allergens from carpets, furniture, and drapes before guests arrive. A Honeywell Air Purifier can help clean indoor air stirred up by vacuum cleaners without HEPA filtration.

Consider adding a Honeywell Air Purifier or Humidifier to any of the rooms in your house. You and your guests will breathe easier. 

Did you know smoke from wildfires can sometimes travel thousands of miles from the fire itself? That’s right — wildfire smoke can affect air in communities thousands of miles away. Fortunately, the amount of smoke arriving from such a distance is likely to be small. But even small amounts of smoke can affect our health. For example, in July 2021, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services advised sensitive individuals to limit outdoor exertion as a result of fine particle air pollution from wildfires in central and western Canada and the western United States. 

Exposure to the tiny airborne particles of burned materials — wood, plastics, and metals, for example — that comprise wildfire smoke can result in a scratchy throat, stinging eyes, and more. 

For many, simply staying indoors with the windows shut isn’t a viable option. And, even if it is, some studies suggest that indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air. So, how can you and your family minimize the effects of wildfire smoke before, during, and after wildfire season? 

Before Wildfire Season Starts

1. Create an evacuation plan. 

While smoke from a wildfire can cause serious problems, your first concern should always be remaining safe from the wildfire itself. Your goal is to be prepared if local authorities instruct you to leave the area. Follow their instructions. The best way to limit exposure to wildfire smoke is to avoid it.

Get familiar with more than one route leading out of your area. 
Know which roads lead to local shelters. If you evacuate to a shelter, inform the staff of family members’ medical conditions, such as asthma.

Have N95 respirator masks ready to go for adult household members. 
They offer adults some protection from unavoidable exposure to wildfire smoke. Note that N95 respirator masks are not made to fit children. Surgical masks, dust masks, and bandanas will not protect children from wildfire smoke. Evacuating is the best way to protect them.

Have a 7- to 10-day supply of family members’ necessary medications in reserve.
Store them in clearly labeled containers that are waterproof and childproof.

Plan for the safety of your pets and livestock. 
Shelters that take in people might not accept animals. Many pet websites offer information about local animal shelters and rescue groups. 

2. Protect Your Home in Advance

Designate at least one “clean room” in your home. 
If local authorities advise residents to stay indoors, it would be ideal to have a space with filtered air available  — especially if your household contains children, loved ones with chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or pregnant family members. 

Set up an air purifier that uses HEPA filters.
Air purifiers that use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are more effective against wildfire smoke than air purifiers that don’t. HEPA filters remove up to 99.97% of dust, pollen, smoke and non-living airborne particles 0.3 microns and larger. All Honeywell InSight® Series Air Purifiers use HEPA filters and odor-reducing pre-filters, and are engineered for use with smoke-reducing pre-filters that may help remove smoke odors up to 4.5 times faster. Select an air purifier for the square footage of the room where it will be used. Honeywell InSight® Series Air Purifiers can change a room’s air 4.8 times an hour and are available as towers or consoles.

Change your filters. One way that smoke can infiltrate your home is through your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, and most HVAC companies recommend changing your air filter every three months. Before fire season, check to ensure your HVAC filter has been changed within the last three months. Additionally, you’ll want to ensure you have changed out your air purifier filter within the previous six months, so it’s ready to work at its optimal rate once it’s time.

Reduce infiltration. 
The process by which air enters your home is called “infiltration,” and there are small steps you can take prior to wildfire season that will help keep your home’s air quality more safe. The National Parks Service recommends weatherizing your house to reduce infiltration — caulking cracks, sealing an unused fireplace, and adding weatherstripping. Added bonus? This will help ensure your home is not only more safe from smoke infiltration but also is more energy efficient. 

If Wildfire Smoke Reaches Your Home 

3. Stay informed of wildfire, smoke, weather, and road conditions. 
Real-time, local information can help your household make decisions, like whether or not to evacuate, more safely. Check AirNow’s Fire and Smoke Map and NOAA’s Fire Weather page frequently on your phone or computer. Tune in to local tv or radio for alerts about road closures. 

4. Keep an eye on your loved ones.
Follow local authorities’ recommendations about exercise and going outside for sensitive individuals. If you or a family member has trouble breathing or experiences other symptoms that don’t improve, continue limiting exposure to wildfire smoke and seek medical care. If it is safe to evacuate, consider doing so. 

5. Reduce your smoke exposure.
Keep windows and doors closed. Don’t smoke. Don’t use gas, propane, or wood-burning stoves or furnaces. Don’t spray aerosol products, fry food, or burn candles or incense. These activities will add particulate matter to the air in your home and may affect family members’ breathing. 

6. Use your “clean” room.
Remember that indoor air can be five times more polluted than outdoor air. Turn on your air purifier and try to spend the majority of your time in this room. Make sure it’s fitted with smoke-reducing filters you’ve changed within the past six months. 

In addition to cleaning the air, you should also be cleaning your home itself. According to The New York Times, during and after a wildfire, smoke particles will inevitably settle on surfaces and flooring, so using a damp mop or cloth to clean more than usual is recommended. Perhaps unsurprisingly, clothes and household linens may also benefit from more frequent laundering. 

After the Smoke Has Cleared

7. Listen to local news and authorities.
If you evacuated your household, do not return home until local authorities announce it is safe. If you’ve returned home — or if you never had to leave — continue to monitor local air quality. Smoke can stay in the air for days after wildfires have ended. 

Wildfire smoke may not be easy to see outdoors, but even haziness can be hazardous to your health. Seek immediate medical attention or dial 911 if you experience shortness of breath, a cough that won’t stop, or other irritations that are not going away.

8. Clean up!
While the fire is still active, it’s important to mop, wipe surfaces, and launder linens more frequently than usual. But now that the fire is over, you’ll want to conduct a couple of deep cleanings over the next couple of weeks, being sure to clean your blinds, curtains, linens, rugs, and floors. Children and other sensitive family members should not participate in any clean-up efforts, as it can harm their health. 

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/air/wildfire-smoke
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/features/wildfires/index.html
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5318238.pdf
https://www.ready.gov/wildfires#prepare