Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is tinting the sky an orange hue, while also bringing about harmful pollutants that can cause breathing issues with prolonged exposure.

“Yesterday I was not outside with my dog when I came home,” says Lizzy Pellichero, of Edison. “I feel safer outside today than yesterday. It wasn’t just the scariness of the smoke being there, it was more that it looked scary.”

Experts say that there are ways to make sure that the smoke doesn’t make its way into the home even if there is a small air conditioning unit in the window.

“If you have a room air conditioner or window unit, usually there’s a lever or a switch on there that allows you to turn off access to outside air,” says Bobby Ring, president of Meyer & Depew. “More modern ones may have a button that says ‘Recirculate.’ So if you press that recirculate button, it’s going to recirculate the air in the house and not bring air into the house.”

Ring says his company has been busy replacing air filters in central air and heating systems.

“The most important thing to do is to make sure your filters are clean,” he says. “Then the second thing to do is, if you look at your thermostat, turn your fan switch to on and that will circulate all of the air in your house and cause it to be drawn through the filter to keep it clean.”

Ring also says that homeowners should make sure that any window unit is properly sealed. He says one can use masking tape to close any gaps.