Social Media Helps Invent, Then Circulate Info on DIY Air Purifiers Amid Wildfire Smoke
U.S. News & World Report NEW YORK (AP) Social media users are sharing a surprisingly effective way to protect yourself indoors from the toxic wildfire smoke blanketing much of the East Coast: a box fan, four air filters and a whole lot of duct tape.
As searches for air purifiers spike on Google, people are posting on TikTok and Facebook about how to build the DIY air purifier. The technique, known as the Corsi-Rosenthal method, has gained attention in recent years amid the pandemic and raging western U.S. wildfires.
Some East Coast residents are learning about the box fan method for the first time, unlike their West Coast counterparts who are accustomed to wildfire smoke.
Seattle resident Angel Robertson, 34, posted a video on a New Yorkers TikTok demonstrating how to put it together. In her video, which has amassed more than 600,000 views, Robertson duct tapes four 20-by-20 air filters into a box shape and attaches the fan on top. The whole apparatus costs under $100.
It works extremely well and will save your life with really smoky days, she says in the video. It does a lot better than the normal air filters.
