DIY Air Filters and Instructions

The Clean Air SGV recently completed a local air monitoring study that confirmed these DIY air filter models are effective at reducing indoor air quality! Following the recent wildfires, we collaborated with the Sustainable SGV Coalition to host a DIY air filter workshop open to all community members to build these units together or take home building materials.

You can find the step-by-step instructions we used and read some testimonials from our study participants who used these units below:

Installing air quality sensors both inside and outside my home has truly enhanced my family’s well-being. Indoors—the sensors help me monitor pollutants like dust, VOCs, and humidity, giving me the control to maintain a clean and healthy living space. When indoor air quality drops, I can quickly improve it using a DIY air filter, which has been incredibly effective. A surprising discovery occurred during recent wildfires in our area. I expected the outdoor air quality to worsen, but the sensors showed surprisingly good readings. It turned out the wind patterns were blowing the smoke away from our area—something I wouldn’t have known without the outdoor sensors. This allowed us to confidently enjoy outdoor activities while staying informed about real conditions in real time. Overall, these sensors have provided peace of mind, making us more aware of our surroundings and helping us create a healthier, safer environment for our home.

We live close to the freeway and air pollution has always been a concern with cars and trains that emit ultra fine particles. We did not have any indoor air filter for the start of the study, but used a DIY air filter the last 2 months. The air filter was kind of noisy and bulky but we just put it by the corner of the dining room so it wasn’t a big deal. We saw from the sensor monitor that it helped improve our indoor air quality. It kept the house cooler, helped circulate the air and the air monitor showed less air pollution numbers. We were very surprised at how high the air pollution went up when we cooked. We would definitely recommend using an indoor air filter and sensors as a way to reduce and monitor air pollution.

The air quality sensors was very informative. Prior to joining this program, I was already looking up the air quality in my area from airnow.gov, but having a sensor literally on my house was interesting since it gave me much more granular information of the air quality in time of day and location. Some times, I have allergic reactions when I go outside or visit a room in my house without an air filter. When I check the air quality map on PurpleAir, the AQI is still in the 50-90 range. Other times when the AQI is also at the same range, I notice an unpleasant fume odor when leaving my air-filtered room. If I did not have an air filter, I definitely would have not noticed such fuming odors in the air. I think if more people notice such differences in air quality right at home, they would be more involved in improving air quality in society. However, the PurpleAir sensors are pretty expensive and most people might not want to always check the results.

Since I was already concerned about our environment prior to participating in this program, my mom and I got cars that were either fully electric or hybrid, which helps the air quality at home, but our neighbors unfortunately have unusually large pickup trucks that runs the most disgusting tailpipe ever. When they operate it on their driveway (which is right next to our house), much of those fumes enter the house and stay in here for a while. We also operate a gas stove that causes the AQI to spike when cooking. The program helped me understand how terrible cooking with gas indoors is, as Benzene fills up the house when gas stoves. The range hood is also very weak which does not do a great job exhausting the gases, but I try to always have it on whenever the stove is on. Replacing the gas stove and the range hood is an endeavor that I cannot presently afford, but I definitely would if it was possible. During the study, my family members were concerned about power draw of the fan and the filters look dirty. It was replaced every few months since the filters got very dark pretty quickly.