ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Keeping windows and doors closed is a homeowner’s first line of defense from pollutants and other air particulates like wildfire smoke from entering the home, according to Haley Comfort Systems Manager Peter Hassig.
Sometimes, however, that’s still not enough to keep the smokey outdoor air from entering the home. Hassig says to look next to the home’s air exchanger. Fresh Air Exchanger
“Basically, what an air exchanger is, is it’s taking air from inside the house and filtering it with air on the outside of the house,” Hassig said.
Air exchangers are actually found in most homes built starting in the 2000s. Newer homes are more airtight, and the exchangers job is to take outdoor air as a way of filtering out dead air within the home.
Hassig says most people are not familiar with air exchangers and their purpose, but in instances where air quality is bad, he says people should turn them off.
“That way we’re not pulling the pollution the contaminants from these Canadian fires back into the house,” Hassig said.
According to Neil Imsdahl at Sargent’s on 2nd, there are quite a few plants. that can also help purify the air in a home, saying homeowners must look for surface area and density.
“There are some that are a little bit better, either due to how much lead texture they have and how much leaf presence they have,” said Imsdahl, a manager at Sargent’s
Imsdahl referred to NASA’s clean air study to showcase some plants that are especially good for purifying the air indoors.
“One plant is better than no plant, but it does take a number of plants to do an equivalent job to say an air purifier,” Imsdahl said.
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