….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.
….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.
here is the link to the post https://permies.com/t/91527/personal-care/purity/Ways-cope-thick-wildfire-smoke#1155895
John Daley Bendigo, Australia The Enemy of progress is the hope of a perfect plan
Benefits of rainfall collection https://permies.com/t/88043/benefits-rainfall-collection
GOOD DEBT/ BAD DEBT https://permies.com/t/179218/mortgages-good-debt-bad-debt
John F Dean wrote:The post I am referring to was by Nicole Alderman in "Ways to cope with thick wildfire smoke"
….give me coffee to do the things I can and bourbon to accept the things I can’t.
Nicole Alderman wrote:
John F Dean wrote:The post I am referring to was by Nicole Alderman in "Ways to cope with thick wildfire smoke"
The air filter actually works really well. Some people use only one filter, like this:
![]()
But, one filter makes the fan sad, and doesn't filter as much air. Two years ago, we made one with two filters:
![]()
This year we made it with three filters:
![]()
It helps if you can get filters that have one side that's the same size as your box fan's height. The ones we have are 20x20x1, and they work great. Get the highest rated filters you can, as the higher ones will filter more smoke out (but will be more expensive, and might be out of stock because other people might be buying them for the same reason). Any filter is better than none, though. Ours were white when we installed them over a week ago, and now the filters are grey. I've also taken to hanging my wet shirts or towels over the filters to dry. This seems to filter even more, without really taxing the fan too much. Our air quality has stayed great inside, even when it was at 225 outside. We also only entered and exited from the garage, using the garage as a kind of air lock. And, of course, we don't open the windows. And we've refrained from using the dryer or hood/bathroom vents. All of those send air outside, which means the house has to suck (polluted) air in from outside.
Of course, since we weren't exchanging inside air for the cooler outside air, our house has stayed pretty uncomfortable at 76-80 degrees, and I've had to run the portable AC unit (which sends hot air outside, and therefore sucks polluted air in) just too cool ourselves down. But, the box fan filter does a nice job of cleaning the air pretty quickly.
'Theoretically this level of creeping Orwellian dynamics should ramp up our awareness, but what happens instead is that each alert becomes less and less effective because we're incredibly stupid.' - Jerry Holkins
r ranson wrote:Another thing I've been doing in the forest fire smoke season is wearing cotton masks. Yes, even before 2020, I wore masks around the farm because the smoke can settle in here for months (inversion). It makes a huge difference. I go from throwing up from the intensity of the smoke to being able to clean out the chicken house.
But the problem was, I couldn't wear the mask in public without people looking at me strangely. Thank you 2020 for changing that.
Several people I know who aren't big into mask-wearing, are wearing their cotton masks to protect against smoke as they have a lot of outside work to do.
D Nikolls wrote:
But. Big advantages to Nicole's version; cost, and filter surface area. And, those may well be the most important two attributes for most people and most applications... That is a lot of filtration area!
I think one like this will pair very well with my current one; I will probably use a blower instead of a box fan. I have one sitting around... if I get lucky, I will find a smaller DC blower to use. This would let me run this filter without turning on the inverters.. which would be nice, because this smoke has been brutal on my solar system.
I am off grid and rely on solar for everything... and the worst smoke has cut my power to effectively zero. Not helpful!
I am really looking forward to building a permanent house that is heavily earth-sheltered. A nice cool basement with filtration would be heavenly... I usually run three 180mm DC exhaust fans all day when it is hot, and my tinyhouse stays at about ambient temp.. lately I can choose between cooking to death and choking. No power to run the fans nonstop, even if I wanted to bring in unfiltered air. As it is, I run the filter for a few minutes when I come inside for meals, and blast it for a half hour before sleep... and have been one bad day away from running out of power for even this, most of the time.
DC fans are widely regarded as the most efficient type of fans. They consume significantly less power than AC fans. In fact, DC fans consume up to 70 percent less energy to produce the same output as traditional AC fan types. This means, that a 25-watt DC-driven yields the same results as 100-watt AC fan
Nicole Alderman wrote:And this is AC power. I just went and looked up a DC fan (I didn't even know about them). I found this tidbit of information amazing:
DC fans are widely regarded as the most efficient type of fans. They consume significantly less power than AC fans. In fact, DC fans consume up to 70 percent less energy to produce the same output as traditional AC fan types. This means, that a 25-watt DC-driven yields the same results as 100-watt AC fan
I'd definitely hook up some filters to your DC fans-- you'll get clean air and a good breeze!
'Theoretically this level of creeping Orwellian dynamics should ramp up our awareness, but what happens instead is that each alert becomes less and less effective because we're incredibly stupid.' - Jerry Holkins
D Nikolls wrote:I wonder if you could increase filter effectiveness by wetting or oiling them, as is done with some truck air filters... Is the wet t-shirt for filtration purposes, or cooling, or?
My book arts: https://biblioarty.wordpress.com/
John F Dean wrote:Somewhere on this site, someone hooked a furnace filter up to a box fan. If you use a group of filters ....4...three sides and top...with cardboard on the bottom to form a box with duck tape ....then duck tape it to the draw side of the fan, it should be of benefit. Of course, the higher quality of filter the better.
Nicole Alderman wrote:
John F Dean wrote:The post I am referring to was by Nicole Alderman in "Ways to cope with thick wildfire smoke"
The air filter actually works really well. Some people use only one filter, like this:
![]()
But, one filter makes the fan sad, and doesn't filter as much air. Two years ago, we made one with two filters:
![]()
This year we made it with three filters:
![]()
It helps if you can get filters that have one side that's the same size as your box fan's height. The ones we have are 20x20x1, and they work great. Get the highest rated filters you can, as the higher ones will filter more smoke out (but will be more expensive, and might be out of stock because other people might be buying them for the same reason). Any filter is better than none, though. Ours were white when we installed them over a week ago, and now the filters are grey. I've also taken to hanging my wet shirts or towels over the filters to dry. This seems to filter even more, without really taxing the fan too much. Our air quality has stayed great inside, even when it was at 225 outside. We also only entered and exited from the garage, using the garage as a kind of air lock. And, of course, we don't open the windows. And we've refrained from using the dryer or hood/bathroom vents. All of those send air outside, which means the house has to suck (polluted) air in from outside.
Of course, since we weren't exchanging inside air for the cooler outside air, our house has stayed pretty uncomfortable at 76-80 degrees, and I've had to run the portable AC unit (which sends hot air outside, and therefore sucks polluted air in) just too cool ourselves down. But, the box fan filter does a nice job of cleaning the air pretty quickly.
Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Excerpt from this site: https://www.everygreenherb.com/smokeInhalation.html
"Mullein helps heal damaged lung tissue.
Herbs can really help to heal smoke damaged tissue and mucus membranes. Building immunity is also important for healing. Try astragalus, ginseng, yellowroot, and licorice tea or capsules. Eat oatmeal, yogurt, and bananas to soothe the throat.
Problems from smoke inhalation and second hand smoke
People with asthma, emphysema, heart disease, sinus problems, and allergies are especially prone to developing problems from smoke. Common symptoms from smoke inhalation and breathing second hand smoke include fatigue, coughing, throat irritation, watering eyes, sinus congestion, wheezing, shortness of breath, headaches, and nose bleeds.
Protect mucus membranes from smoke
Smoke in the air? Stay hydrated! Drink lots of water and herbal teas with lemon. Also drink mullein tea.
It may also help to irrigate the sinuses with a weak saline solution (salt water).
It is unpleasant but can bring relief to the sinuses – just snort some warm salt water from a bowl up into your nose then blow it back out into a tissue...."
And if tinctures is your thing... From https://www.aromaculture.com/blog/herbal-aromatherapy-for-smoke-inhalation
"My main allies throughout this fire season have been Hawthorn and Plantain (Plantago sp.) tincture. A dropperful of Plantain every couple of hours on the worst days has been helping to clear my symptoms quickly and on more mild days, a dropperful in the morning and one in the evening has been sufficient. After we come in from doing our garden chores in the mornings, I take a dropperful in orange juice and it has been tremendously effective for me. You could also consider using Nettle tincture, Mullein, or Marshmallow. The Plantain helps to soothe the mucous membranes and break down the excess mucous that accumulates because of the irritation caused by the smoke and inhaling other particles in the air. There are other herbs that can be used, but I have found that keeping it simple has yielded the best results for me, personally."
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