DETROIT – Over the last 48 hours, that thick layer of Canadian wildfire smoke has made breathing difficult for people across the area, both outdoors and in their homes.
In consecutive days, the city of Detroit has had the worst air quality on Earth.
We asked Local 4 viewers on our Facebook page whether they had purchased an air purifier, and we received many responses.
Mary Fran Moynihan commented: “I turned my room air purifier on high. It usually registers 100% clean air. Now it registers at 78%.”
Mary Wilson commented: “I usually run my air purifier on low and mostly at night. Yesterday I turned it up to medium and let it run all day. It does a pretty good job eliminating the smoke smell in the house.”
If people want to buy an air purifier, they will likely have to shop online because they have flown off store shelves around Metro Detroit.
At the Meijer in Allen Park on Friday (July 17), there were plenty of fans and air filters in stock.
But when it came time for the air purifier, there was exactly one left with a retail price of $292.
Which was one more than was available at the Meijer on 8 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
“All of our air purifiers’ filters are sold out,” Michael Jones, the store’s director, said. “They are all gone.”
The next stop was Home Depot in Allen Park, where, once again, lots of air conditioners were in stock, but there was not an air purifier to be found on the shelf.
At the Target in Allen Park, they only had the display units and one tall Dyson Air Purifier that cost nearly $550.
At the Dearborn Walmart, it was much of the same, as no air purifiers were available.
They are available on the stores’ websites as well as on Amazon, but a scan of the air purifier listings shows that none are available for next-day delivery.
The earliest delivery dates are next Wednesday, July 22, or the following day, Thursday, July 23.
So, if you need them, you might have to wait a while.
“I feel like I’ve gone back to COVID times,” said Daisy Hernandez, a Walmart shopper from Dearborn. “But I just want to be safe with all of the corrosion in the air.
Hernandez, who works in the medical field, was wearing an N-95 mask.
She can’t afford the steep price of a purifier, but is improvising as best she can.
“I don’t have one of those, but I keep the windows closed and doors shut,” she said. “I’m staying safe as much as possible.”