When the Skies Turn Orange
If you've lived in Grande Prairie for any length of time, you know what wildfire smoke season looks like. That hazy sky that turns the sun orange. The smell that seeps into everything. The air quality advisories that keep kids inside and make your eyes burn. Northern Alberta is wildfire country, and the smoke events have been getting more frequent and more intense.
During smoke events, your home is your refuge — but only if it's set up to protect your air quality. Here's how to clean and manage your indoor environment during wildfire season.
Seal Your Home
Before talking about cleaning, start with prevention:
- Close all windows and doors: This seems obvious, but check every one — including basement windows you might have opened in spring and forgotten about.
- Set your HVAC to recirculate: Most thermostats have a "recirculate" or "fan on" setting that cycles indoor air through the filter without pulling fresh air from outside. Use it.
- Seal gaps: Check weather stripping around doors and windows. Even small gaps let smoke particles in. A rolled towel at the base of the door helps in a pinch.
- Don't use exhaust fans: Range hoods, bathroom fans, and dryer vents create negative pressure that pulls smoky outdoor air inside through every crack and opening. Avoid using them during active smoke events.
Air Filtration During Smoke
- Upgrade your furnace filter: MERV 13 or higher captures fine smoke particles. Standard MERV 8 filters won't do enough. Run your fan continuously during smoke events to keep cycling air through the filter.
- HEPA air purifiers: If you don't own one, wildfire season is the time to buy one. A HEPA filter captures 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns and larger — which includes the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in wildfire smoke. Place one in the bedroom at minimum.
- DIY box fan filter: In a pinch, tape a MERV 13 furnace filter to the back of a box fan. It's ugly but it works. Better than nothing during a severe smoke event.
Cleaning During Smoke Events
Smoke particles settle on every surface in your home. During and after smoke events:
- Damp dust all surfaces daily: Smoke particles are incredibly fine and cling to everything. Dry dusting just pushes them back into the air. Use a damp microfiber cloth and wipe all horizontal surfaces — counters, tables, shelves, windowsills.
- Vacuum with HEPA filtration: Vacuum daily during heavy smoke, focusing on carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture where particles embed. A non-HEPA vacuum will blow fine particles back into the air.
- Mop hard floors: After vacuuming, mop to capture the finest particles. This one-two punch (vacuum then mop) is the most effective floor cleaning for smoke conditions.
- Wash soft items: Curtains, throw blankets, bedding, and pillow covers absorb smoke odour and particles. Wash them during or after a smoke event.
- Change furnace filter more frequently: During extended smoke events, your filter is working overtime. Check it weekly and replace when it looks grey or clogged.
After the Smoke Clears
Once air quality returns to normal, do a full reset:
- Open all windows for a thorough air exchange — let fresh air flush out the stale, particle-laden indoor air
- Deep clean all surfaces, including ones you might normally skip — tops of door frames, light fixtures, inside cabinets near exterior walls
- Wash all bedding and upholstery covers
- Clean or replace the furnace filter
- Consider professional carpet and upholstery cleaning if the smoke was heavy or prolonged — smoke odour embeds in fabric and padding
We're Here When the Smoke Clears
After a wildfire smoke event, a professional deep clean makes a real difference. We focus on the fine-particle cleaning that's hard to do yourself — detailed surface cleaning, upholstery, air vent covers, and the areas where smoke residue accumulates invisibly. If you or your family have respiratory sensitivities, a post-smoke clean is especially worthwhile. Call us when the sky turns blue again — we'll help reset your home.