Clever and Cheap Hack to Keep Your Windows Open During Montana’s Fire Season

It's hot. But if you ask a lot of Montanans if they have air conditioning where they live, oftentimes the answer is no.

There are tricks out there for DIY air conditioners. Some use five-gallon buckets, others require a few more materials like PVC pipe, but a lot of times, people will just leave their windows open. That's what we did in the houses when I was growing up.

It may get hot during the day in Montana, if you leave your windows open overnight you can keep them closed during the day and things will still stay pretty cool. There's just one problem. Fire season.

A lot of times, it's too smoky to leave the windows open during the summer, but it turns out there's a very simple DIY trick for this too.

READ MORE: DIY Redneck Air Conditioner

One of our listeners Josie shared this clever and inexpensive hack for leaving windows open during the summer. Josie is also the one who shared the tip about driving in whiteout conditions in Montana. If she has a recommendation, we take her word for it.

She says that if you keep your windows or screen doors open during the summer and it's smoky:

Put air filters over your windows. 

Isn't that a great idea? It's the furnace filters that she's talking about, the square ones, that look like this:

The allergy filters tend to be a little more expensive than just standard filters. These filters are roughly $10/filter on Amazon (total $41.78).

What do you do if the filter doesn't quite fit in your window or screen door? "Cardboard and ducktape," Josie says.