Wildfire smoke often smells like burning plastic because of a chemical change. When sunlight's UV rays hit the smoke as it travels, they break down certain gases, leaving behind compounds like benzene and formaldehyde. These specific lingering chemicals produce a distinct, plastic-like odor
Canadian Smoke
- Thread starter Zee09
- Start date
I guess a MERV13 furnace filter would help. Mine's only MERV8.
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
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- Sep 5, 2021
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Smoke tracking/air quality websites:
https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/products/land/hms.html#maps
https://fire.airnow.gov/#3.43/44.34/-94.55
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/
https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/products/land/hms.html#maps
https://fire.airnow.gov/#3.43/44.34/-94.55
https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/
started at 4am today, by 10am it was campfire of burning rubber.
started mowing at 1pm and it was considerably thinner 40miles south.. by the time I left it was getting worse.
ride home was fogbank This is just above akron-canton airport.
started mowing at 1pm and it was considerably thinner 40miles south.. by the time I left it was getting worse.
ride home was fogbank This is just above akron-canton airport.
Japanese
$50 site donor 2026
It's interesting that here the air quality index is 500 (the dirtiest air ever) and at the same time the visibility is 16 miles, when in reality the visibility is no more than a mile?
It's really dense here in Central Pennsylvania, almost like fog. Really appreciative of my Hondas climate control system, the cabin filter is hopefully helping, AC on permanently and in recirculation as well.
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2026
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Here on the Canadian border, it’s horrible. I see this thread has been alive for years, lol, the Canadian forest fires dont stop it seems.
Outside Pittsburgh, Pa., it’s looking pretty smoky and smells awful. Air quality where I’m at is over 300 (not nearly as bad as some places). I’m running 3 Alen BreatheSmart 45i air purifiers and a Coway Airmega AP-1512HH. I have them all set on high. Looking forward to Saturday’s predicted rain to hopefully improve the air quality.
I have ben in my house all day with the AC and de-humidifers, and a homemade air filter made from a big furnace filter and a big thick cardboard box and a fan. I think the de-humidiferers actually grab a lot of fine particulates into the condensate water on the evaporator.
The air quality inside my house has been OK all day. But I went outside to get something out of my car for a few minutes, just a short while ago ( 10:30 PM ) and the " smoke " smells like it is a about 1/4 from wood burning and about 3/4 from plastic and chemicals burning or being put into the air.
I have been at many campfires in my years, and the smoke outside is not like any wood fire that I ever smelled in my lifetime. I think some companies figured it's a great opportunity to throw a lot of burnt trash into the air and not get caught at it. It certainly smells like burning plastic. Only a hint of burning wood in all that's in that air out there right now. It is pretty bad out there right now.
The air quality inside my house has been OK all day. But I went outside to get something out of my car for a few minutes, just a short while ago ( 10:30 PM ) and the " smoke " smells like it is a about 1/4 from wood burning and about 3/4 from plastic and chemicals burning or being put into the air.
I have been at many campfires in my years, and the smoke outside is not like any wood fire that I ever smelled in my lifetime. I think some companies figured it's a great opportunity to throw a lot of burnt trash into the air and not get caught at it. It certainly smells like burning plastic. Only a hint of burning wood in all that's in that air out there right now. It is pretty bad out there right now.
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Japanese
$50 site donor 2026
Do you have an idea how many lithium-ion batteries there are in a landfill and what they do when heated or pressed?
Or if there are any specific landfills or storages for lithium-ion batteries how are they kept safe?
https://news.clemson.edu/lithium-ion-battery-fires-are-a-growing-public-safety-concern-%E2%88%92-heres-how-to-reduce-the-risk/
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Everything has an apocalyptic haze and amber glow on it the last couple days. AQI shows decent, but it sure dont feel like it, my asthma has been saying otherwise.
I saw that an airliner was departing an airport and told the tower that the " smoke " was leaving residue on the windscreen, and that it was unlike anything he had seen before.
We're at only ~200 AQI this morning, and it's supposed to improve throughout the day
Nowhere near as bad as 2023, but you can still feel it in the throat/eyes
We got some rain coming Saturday, that should help rinse it clean
Elders, is this what smog looked like in the 70s?
Except brown, because 70s
Nowhere near as bad as 2023, but you can still feel it in the throat/eyes
We got some rain coming Saturday, that should help rinse it clean
Elders, is this what smog looked like in the 70s?
Except brown, because 70s
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AQI is 185 this morning that's three bad days in a row, with it to rise during the day, it sucks!!
Good point.
I know that locally there have been a number of garbage truck fires in recent years with LI-ion batteries the suspected cause.
There is a park system behind my home where the foliage and pond starts. The air is horrible.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Smoke in the air in DC suburbs. I went out at 6:30am and I can both see it all around like a morning fog, only it isn't fog, and I can smell it. The sun is up and bright, but i's hazy just to look straight across the street. Smells like a campfire upwind somewhere.
