Designate one cleaner-air room and seal it during smoke events
Health Canada’s guidance on cleaner air spaces tells households that during heavy smoke events, the most practical approach is to designate one room...
Health Canada’s guidance on cleaner air spaces tells households that during heavy smoke events, the most practical approach is to designate one room as a cleaner-air space and concentrate filtration there. Choose a room with few windows and doors, ideally an interior bedroom. Keep windows and doors closed, run a properly-sized HEPA cleaner, and use this room for sleeping and time spent at home. Seal obvious leaks around windows with weatherstripping or tape during the event. Avoid activities that add indoor pollutants — frying food, burning candles or incense, vacuuming without a HEPA filter, or running an unvented gas stove. Set the central HVAC to recirculate rather than draw outdoor air, and turn off bath and kitchen exhaust fans. If your home is unbearably hot, balance smoke avoidance with heat risk — Health Canada also publishes specific guidance for combined wildfire smoke and extreme heat, which is a serious risk for elderly people. Public buildings (libraries, recreation centres, malls) often serve as community cleaner-air spaces during severe events; check with your municipality.
A single bedroom with the door closed and a HEPA cleaner running becomes far cleaner than the rest of the house — that is the cleaner-air-space strategy in one sentence.
Source: Canada — Cleaner Air Spaces During Wildfire Smoke
Last reviewed 2026-05-02.
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