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Filter elements are consumables, though for heavier particulates you can wash them. Finer particulate filters rely on electrostatic charge to the filter that gets messed up more easily.
Also, if you're talking about wildfire smoke, sleeping with a mask on is not very nice. You want some kind of powered filtration in your living space, if you have electricity. Look up "Corsi-Rosenthal box" for a DIY method using a box fan and furnace filters.
I remember bigclive trying to make a simple air filter with toilet paper. I wonder if you could scale that up to something like a corsi-rosenthal box?
Then also what kind of filtration you actually get from toilet paper. Should make a good dust filter at least, but not sure about smaller particles.
I don't think that would work well. I did a crude thing with a single furnace filter instead of 4 of them and that worked ok though.
I have a powerful air purifier inside my home, but for leaving it, I would really like to protect my lungs from particulates (my area is being hit hard by wildfires right now). Is my best option just buying and wearing KN95s like usual or is there something better I could get and buy a box of filters for?
For particulates you should use a real N95 instead of KN95. If you want something more permanent try a half-face or full-face respirator with replaceable cartridges. I have a 3M 6297 (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b10013131/ ). I'm not convinced the particulate reduction is any better than an N95, but it's easier to get a good seal and easier to breathe through, and gives more odor reduction. If doing it again I'd probably get the style with the trapezoid shaped cartridges (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b5005625039/) instead of the round ones, since there are more choices of cartridges for different classes of contaminant. As an extra benefit, it gets you the stylish Darth Vader look. You can get them at hardware stores or Home Depot since painters and so on use them. I got mine at Office Depot. I think it was $25 or so including a pair of P100 cartridges.
The filter cartridges last a pretty long time but they are way more expensive than N95's, like $10 a pair maybe? IDR, it's been a while.
Don't worry about N95 vs N100/P100, there really isn't much difference under testing. Look up Aaron Collins' youtube channel for a gazillion mask tests from 2020 or so. N95 vs P95 shouldn't matter since the P designates oil resistance which isn't relevant here.
Here are 3M's full face respirators which is the next step up from half face: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/c/ppe/respiratory-protection/reusable-respirators/full-face/
I don't have one but sort of wanted one some time back.
At least on my 6297, it looks pretty easy to convert it to a powered respirator (PAPR) by removing the cartridges and connecting an air hose to the cartridge ports to deliver filtered air from wherever.
The GVS Elipse is a lower profile option that should have comparable performance to the 3m respirators. They offer both half and full face respirators as well.
Yes there are lots of brands. The Elipse got a poor review on reddit a while back, but I haven't tried it myself.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Masks4All/comments/sudju5/recs_for_p100_valveless_ehmr_respirators/hxa3rfn/
I have one. I used it quite a bit during COVID. I think 3m's respirators might flow a little better, and its easier to find their filters. I didn't have any issues with the seal or comfort on the GVS. And I appreciated the smaller profile. Not sure what the complaints were on rediit, but I like mine.
The Dräger Explore 3300 or 3500 are also good options with replaceable filters. When I bought mine it was actually cheaper than the 3M mask, though I live in germany where the company is based and not in the US.
During covid I settled on 3M p2 respirators. They're certified PPE but are disposable. The only BIFL options are things that use a positive pressure mask with a pump and replaceable filter and masks with a replaceable filter or two in the front
Both of the replaceable filter styles use filters that mass more than the disposable respirators, but last longer between replacement
Regular usage is much lighter than industrial, all filters last longer filtering town air than they do in a factory
During covid I used one p2 respirator for weeks before it became unable to seal, actually I used three to give them a chance to dry completely between uses
The masks with external filters make you look like you're expecting a gas attack; the disposable masks look like you have a cold you don't want to share
