TL;DR: what are your tricks to keep the interior air of a house pleasant when living in a stinky locale?
For the next couple years, I am stuck on land* in a house that is occasionally downwind from a paper mill. Holy hell, the smell can be eye-wateringly bad when the winds blow just the wrong way. The house is ~1700 square feet with HVAC.
*I normally live on my sailboat and move around at will.
I have an ozone generator for serious de-stinking, but wow ozone is nasty even in small quantities. I have a Corsi-Rosenthal box, but that does nothing for smells. I was thinking maybe a big tray of activated charcoal in the HVAC intake and another in the CR box. In my experience, the tiny charcoal filters in most air cleaners get saturated in about 48 hours. What works for y’all? Super extra bonus points for ongoing maintenance and cost-reduction tips and tricks.
Thank you fellow Lemmings for anything ya got.
No one mentioned checking all the seals around the property?
Since the smell is coming from outside, check that all your windows, doors, or any other openings are well sealed. As much as possible keep the bad smelling outside air from seeping in. You don’t mention the age of the property, but if it’s over 20 years old it’s probably leaky af.
You do need some air exchange (clear CO2 & let in oxygen), but if you get it well enough sealed you can then look into an air exchange that you can filter (also reclaim heat / cool).
After that all the air filter & deodorizer suggestions from others will help. But my first thought is minimizing the smell from getting in as best you can.