APPLETON (NBC 26) — After seven consecutive days of dangerous smoke levels, mechanics and air quality experts say now is the time to check your filters.
There are three main filters people should be looking at: your car's cabin and engine air filters, your home HVAC or furnace filter, and filters inside portable air purifiers.
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Cordell McMahan, shop manager at Richmond Street Automotive, said smoke can cause buildup that isn't always visible.
"With the smoke, it can cause soot particles to come into the air filters, which you may not see with the naked eye but it is going to fill up the filter and cause air restrictions," McMahan said.
McMahan added that a clogged cabin air filter has a direct impact on the air inside your vehicle. "This is going to restrict the air flow in your cabin."
Craig Czarnecki, Wisconsin DNR air quality outreach coordinator, said if you can't remember the last time you replaced a filter, that's your sign to replace it.
"If you're thinking, man when was that, the last time I did that? You should probably replace it," Czarnecki said.
Czarnecki said last week's smoke event was historic, with records broken at monitoring sites across the state.
"Thursday was definitely one for the record books, 13 different sites across the state broke records," Czarnecki said.
Appleton and Green Bay both recorded some of their worst air quality levels ever measured.
While the smoke is starting to clear, the DNR says there is no way to know exactly when another round of smoke could return. For the most up-to-date air quality conditions, the DNR recommends checking their website.
