Air quality in the western U.S. and PAP filters

[Miss Emerita]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the air has been smoky for quite a while and the air quality index has recently entered the "very unhealthy" zone. I know many of you are living in other areas that are affected by all the fires we are seeing.

I usually change the filter on my machine once a month, and I had never noticed any sign of filtered-out gunk. But after just one week, I checked this a.m. and found that the filter looked grayish. I will be checking a lot more frequently until the fires are out and the air has cleared.

[zonker]

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the air has been smoky for quite a while and the air quality index has recently entered the "very unhealthy" zone. I know many of you are living in other areas that are affected by all the fires we are seeing.

I usually change the filter on my machine once a month, and I had never noticed any sign of filtered-out gunk. But after just one week, I checked this a.m. and found that the filter looked grayish. I will be checking a lot more frequently until the fires are out and the air has cleared.

good point. and thanks for posting it. people like me have to be nudged into checking their filter.

let's go do that now.

aaannnddd, the gray one got tossed! up here in the northwest of the northwest, i noticed some haze in the neighborhood. don't know if it can be blamed on the fires or not.

at any rate, thanks for the reminder!

[Miss Emerita]

For those of you who follow this kind of thing, you can check your local air quality here:

airnow.gov

I hope you don't see what I'm seeing for my zip code...

[chunkyfrog]

Cool!
Our pond is at the extreme left of the chart.
It's good to be green.
Hoping the rest of you will be breathing better soon.

[zonker]

For those of you who follow this kind of thing, you can check your local air quality here:

and thanks for that! yeah, as i ventured out more into the day, i suspected this was smoke from the fires. and radio dude confirmed it.

looks like right now we are "unhealthy". but radio dude said this will clear up "early next week".

i'm reassured by that solid information.

[Okie bipap]

At times like this, I am glad I no longer live in California. I always said would never live out there, but got a job offer I could not resist. As soon as I had a chance to transfer some place else, I took it. It took me nine years, but I'm glad I made the transfer. I remember a couple of the bad fires when I lived there as well as the earth quakes. I don't miss either of them.

[Miss Emerita]

But Okie B, look at this map of earthquakes over 3.0, just since 2016, copied straight off the OK govt web. You feeling any of them? (I seem to be into printscreen off of govt web sites today.)

[palerider]

And on that subject, I saw this today:


That's a 3M 60923 filter.

[palerider]

At times like this, I am glad I no longer live in California. I always said would never live out there, but got a job offer I could not resist. As soon as I had a chance to transfer some place else, I took it. It took me nine years, but I'm glad I made the transfer. I remember a couple of the bad fires when I lived there as well as the earth quakes. I don't miss either of them.

we just have to worry about tornados and flooding now and then

[palerider]

For those of you who follow this kind of thing, you can check your local air quality here:

If it makes you feel any better (and I know it doesn't), I saw a post yesterday about how San Francisco now had the worst air quality IN THE WORLD... and by the time I looked at the link... Portland had said NOPE! WE CAN'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THAT!

https://www.iqair.com/us/world-air-quality-ranking they're currently #1, with Seattle #2.

[Miss Emerita]

Aw jeez, the Bay Area just can't catch a break!

[chunkyfrog]

The upside is--we already own a drawer full of masks.

[Okie bipap]

we just have to worry about tornados and flooding now and then

I grew up with those. You usually have a warning before either of those. You never know when the quakes are going to hit. I was there for the Northridge and Big Bear quakes. I was at work in Pico Rivera when the Whittier quake hit. I worked in the new annex of the building that was built to the current earthquake standards of that time. The only damage in our portion of the building was several ceiling tiles bounced out of their tracks and a large stack of computer printouts we had stacked in one corner fell over. The older portions of the plant had a lot of damage. That was lots of fun.

[Usingcpap]

I am also in the SF Bay Area and the last two nights my AHI has really been high. It is typically under 1, but has gotten as high as over 5, which is unusual. I am wondering if it has to do with the bad air quality, and the fact that I had been outside walking in it?

[Miss Emerita]

Quite possible:

https://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom ... -apnea.php

“Prior studies have shown that air pollution impacts lung and heart health, but only a few studies have looked at how air pollution might affect sleep,” said Dr. Billings, lead study author and associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington. “It seemed likely that air pollution was detrimental to sleep, given that air pollution causes upper airway irritation, swelling and congestion, and may also affect the parts of the brain and central nervous system that control breathing patterns and sleep.”

It'd be a good idea to stay indoors with with windows and doors closed until the air quality improves. That will protect your lungs, and it might help with the AHI.