Guest Blogger: How to Grow Cleaner Air in Your Home

Guest Blog #162, Entry #637, August 31, 2011

It is a known fact that adding greenery to your home can help the indoor environment for the inhabitants. Depending on what type of plants you decorate your home with, can have added benefits, including purifying the air for your family. My Guest Blogger shows you which plants can help you grow cleaner air in your home.

Plants can help purify the air in your interiors

Image courtesy of Zeopspot

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While we all understand that trees are important air filters for our planet, we often overlook household plants as practical assistants to riding the air of pollutants, toxins and even helping to balance internal humidity.

The questions then become which plants are best? And how many do we need?

Researchers from NASA and other organizations have compiled a list of 10 household plants believed to help purify internal air. They recommend 15-18 good sized plants for a house of approximately 1800 sq. feet. The highlighted plants are as follows:

1. Peace Lily
2. Spider Plant
3. Devil’s Ivy
4. Arrowhead Plant
5. English Ivy
6. Heartleaf or Elephant Ear Philodendron
7. Gerbera Daisy
8. Weeping Fig
9. Red-edged dracaena
10. Pot Mum

Luckily many of the above listed plants do not require placement near windows. It is common for indoor plants to have originated in dense rainforest climates, thus having high rates of photosynthesis. While perfect for darker areas and corners it is important to strike a balance between light and ventilation as drafts have been linked to a decrease in plant efficiency on indoor air pollution.

Spruce up your indoor air with the additon of greenery

Image courtesy of Pictures Interior Design

In another eye opening discovery, researchers from the New Delhi, India based company PBC™ – STIP have organized a list of 3 common household plants to help filter indoor air pollution.

1. Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)

•    Great for day time
•    Good in living rooms
•    Need approx. 4 plants per person
•    Place outside once ever 3-4 months
•    Wipe down leaves once a month in cleaner cities

2. Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata)

•    Converts CO2 into O2 at night
•    Need approx. 6-8 plants per person
•    Wipe down leaves same as Areca Palm

3. Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum)

•    Excellent for removing Formaldehyde and other VOC’s
•    Best grown using hydroponics

Over a 15 year span, PBC™ – STIP ran tests with over 1200 plants and 300 building occupants. This research culminated with the above 3 plants and the results are quite astonishing:

•    After just 10 hours inside one of these buildings, 42% of occupants increased blood oxygen levels by 1%
•    Compared to other buildings in Delhi:
⁃    eye irritation incidence was reduced by 52%
⁃    lower respiratory symptoms by 34%
⁃    headaches by 24%
⁃    upper respiratory symptoms by 20%
⁃    lung impairment by 10-12%
⁃    Asthma by 9%
•    PBC™ – STIP also reduced energy costs by approximately 15% as a result of not having to inject fresh air into the building to meet the ASHRAE industry standard.

Plants can beautify your decor too!

Image courtesy of Interior Original

With more than 60% of the worlds population expected to be living in cities with over 1 million inhabitants within the next 15 years, it is becomingly increasingly important to find energy efficient means of curbing indoor air pollution. Common household plants can assist in our daily lives by increasing the freshness of our home’s air. More importantly, they may have a great impact on our world’s energy demand when it comes to air and climate control for our homes and buildings.

James is an avid environmentalist who dreams of one day seeing the earth from orbit. For now, he works with sustainable products from Rubbermaid Commercial Products

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.