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Build your household plan

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Your plan

1. Rooms, in order of priority

★ Rooms where a sensitive person spends long hours get a higher target (6 instead of 5).

2. What to buy (check the specs, not the brand)

• Purifier for each room above: published particle (smoke/PM2.5) CADR at least the number shown, at a fan speed quiet enough to run all night. Mechanical HEPA filter (H13 or “true HEPA”). No ozone; any ioniser can be switched off. Genuine replacement filters sold locally.
• One indoor PM2.5 monitor that shows µg/m³, to check the priority room is actually clean.
• Respirators for adults who go out: N95, FFP2 or BIS FFP2 with head straps, in a few shapes to find one that fits each person. Keep spares.
• Sealing: foam or EPDM weatherstrip for window and door gaps, and a door sweep for the priority room. Never block gas-appliance ventilation or exits.

3. Daily habits

• Check the nearest station’s AQI and timestamp before planning outings (CPCB / SAMEER app).
• Run the purifier continuously during bad spells, door closed. Ventilate briefly when outdoor air is better, and while cooking use an exhaust fan.
• No incense, dhoop, mosquito coils, candles or smoking indoors.

4. For the sensitive people in your home

• Older adults: keep indoor movement going in the clean room on bad days; door-to-door transport for appointments; keep medical care on schedule.

Clean-room simulator

See how sealing gaps, closing the door and running a purifier change the air inside one room. This is an educational model, not a forecast.

What each step adds (door closed)

• Leaky room, no purifier227 µg/m³
• Sealed room, no purifier105 µg/m³
• Leaky room + 300 m³/h purifier47 µg/m³
• Sealed room + 300 m³/h purifier6 µg/m³

Bars show indoor PM2.5 as a share of the outdoor level (250 µg/m³).

How powerful a purifier does this room need?

• Ignore the “suitable for up to X ft²” claim on boxes. Brands calculate it in different ways, sometimes assuming only 1–2 air changes per hour. Compare CADR instead.
• Quiet or sleep modes deliver much less than the maximum CADR. If the night-time speed is too weak, size up or add a second unit.
• Two purifiers in one open space add together. Size closed rooms separately.

Check a purifier before you buy

Copy the numbers from the spec sheet of any purifier you are considering.

The purifier

Your room and use

Purchase price not included. Use the CADR and wattage at the speed you'll actually run, if the spec sheet lists them.

AQI translator

Apps and news reports quote different scales. Enter whichever number you have to see it on the other scales and next to the WHO guideline.

Both scales use 24-hour average PM2.5. The AQI shown by CPCB is the highest sub-index across several pollutants, so in dusty weather it may be driven by PM10 and the PM2.5 implied here will be an overestimate. Hourly “live” numbers are not the same as 24-hour averages.

Mask chooser and 60-second fit check

Fit check, every time you put it on

• With clean hands, check the mask and straps. Replace it if it is damaged, dirty or damp.
• Cover nose, mouth and chin. Place the straps as the instructions say (usually one at the crown, one below the ears).
• Press the metal nose clip with fingertips of both hands to mould it to the nose. Keep hair out of the seal.
• Seal check: cover the mask with both hands and breathe out sharply. If air leaks at the nose or edges, adjust and repeat. If it keeps leaking, try another size or shape.

0 of 4 done. This is a user seal check, not the formal fit test used in workplaces. Reset

Older adult: daily checklist

• Checked the nearest station’s AQI and its timestamp before planning any outing.
• Bedroom purifier running at an effective speed; door kept closed; indoor PM2.5 reviewed.
• No incense, coils, smoking or charcoal heating indoors today; exhaust used while cooking.
• Short sessions of indoor movement done (walking, chair exercises, stretching).
• Medicines taken; inhalers and prescriptions stocked for at least a week.
• Any trip planned door-to-door, with a fitted respirator if suitable and the doctor agrees.
• Checked how they feel: breathing, chest, energy, confusion. Know when to call 112.

0 of 7 done today. Reset checklist

Child: daily checklist

• Checked the AQI for the school run and outdoor plans.
• Child’s bedroom or play room purifier running, door closed.
• School route: quieter roads, windows up and recirculation in the car, no idling at the gate.
• Indoor active play planned on Poor or worse days.
• Inhaler (if prescribed) packed in the school bag; school knows the action plan.
• Watched for night cough, wheeze, fast breathing or tiredness.

0 of 6 done today. Reset checklist