Living Air Cleaners
Live Plants do more than
make our homes and offices more attractive.
They can play an integral role in improving the
very essence of our lives- the air we breath.
Anytime you
buy new linens, carpeting, or other home furnishings, you bring the
chemicals used in their manufacture into your house as well. Even unbagging
your dry cleaning can expose you to contaminants. These volatile organic
chemicals (VOCs) make up a portion of the air pollution that exists
inside our homes. Even when you can't smell them anymore, VOCs pollute
the air enough to irritate your respiratory tract and cause headaches,
sinus congestion, and fatigue.
Pioneering
research at NASA has shown that houseplants are an antidote to many
of the unhealthy household substances that contribute to poor indoor
quality and lead to illness. Greenery soaks up VOCs, breaks them down,
and uses them as food.
Picking
and placing plants
Two to three plants in 8-inch or 10-inch pots for every 100 square feet
will help clean up the air in your breathing zone. Double that, and
your indoor environment will become healthier in less time- just one
week. A breathing zone is an area of 6-8 cubic feet surrounding a person.
These are areas where an individual remains for several hours, such
as at a desk or computer, watching TV, or sleeping.
FACTS
Plants are
Nature's Most Efficient
Environmental
Air Cleaner!
Studies by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prove that plants not only
beautify indoor environments, they make them healthier to live in. NASA
studied the benefits of plants for use in future space stations and
closed environments. Properly designed indoor planting can provide an
inexpensive, refreshingly low-tech means of removing pollutants from
the air in offices and homes.
Indoor air is polluted
from the various fibers (carpet, fabrics, wall coverings) and solvents
(wallboard, paints, varnishes, furniture) we use to build and decorate
our homes and offices. Two potted plants per 100 square feet of floor
space will help to clean and refresh the air in the average home or
office.
Virtually every tropical
indoor plant and many flowering plants are powerful removers of indoor
air pollutants. Below is a chart of the plants in the NASA study that
most effectively removed pollutants from the air.
| Pollutant |
Source |
Solutions |
| Formaldehyde |
foam insulation
plywood
particle board
clothes
carpeting
furniture
paper goods
household cleaners
water repellants |
Azalea
Dieffenbachia
Philodendron
Spider plant
Golden pothos
Bamboo palm
Corn plant
Chrysanthemum
Mother-in-law's tongue
Poinsettia |
| Benzene |
tobacco smoke
gasoline
synthetic fibers
plastics
inks
oils
detergents |
English ivy
Marginata
Janet Craig
Chrysanthemum
Gerbera daisy
Warneckei
Peace lily |
| Trichloroethylene |
dry cleaning
inks
paints
varnishes
lacquers
adhesives |
Gerbera daisy
Chrysanthemum
Peace lily
Warneckei
Marginata |
