In as much as plants play a great role in maintaining our atmosphere through the absorption of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere and release of Oxygen, some plant varieties could extend their benefits to reducing airborne toxins such as Formaldehyde, Carbon Monoxide, and Benzene from the air we inhale in our places of work and homes. Having said this let us discover how plants can help create a healthier lifestyle.
Bill Wolverton, a retired senior research scientist at NASA and a current environmental engineer said that “With all the synthetic building components and furnishings found within a modern building, there usually exist myriad chemicals in the indoor air.” He also reported that certain houseplants could filter out airborne chemicals and aid in purifying the air in the space stations. It does not come as a surprise that most if not all household items such as stoves, draperies, and carpets contain air pollutants.
Additionally, most of the commonly used products such as glue, grocery bags, facial wipes, detergents, and toilet papers emit toxic compounds. Alone, these chemicals may not be harmful but when they combine, they form a chemical soup that proves harmful to human health.
The physical health complications caused by pollutants in the air include scratchy eyes, sore throats, nose bleeds, and skin irritation. Luckily, most household plants work as natural air purifiers and are efficient in their duty since they effectively filter out and absorb toxic substances from the air indoors.
Examples of easy-to-maintain plants that improve your lifestyle and health.
- Lady Palm: This is an adaptable green plant that is famous for its fan-shaped foliage. It thrives well in humid or dry environments and needs only a little sunlight alongside its pesticide properties. This plant filters out toluene, xylene, ammonia, and formaldehyde.
- Rubber plant: Rubber plants do well in low lighting but require humid conditions. However, it is resistant to diseases and pests. This easy-to-grow plant has large glossy leaves which are green in color and filters out toxins e.g., xylene, formaldehyde, and toluene from the environmental air.
- Peace Lily: This plant has lance-shaped leaves with beautiful white blossoms. They naturally brighten your home, office, or retail store while filtering out ammonia, acetone, toluene, formaldehyde, xylene, benzene, and trichloroethylene.
- Golden Pothos: This is one plant commonly displayed as the hanging plant. The plant is a vine that rapidly grows and can be distinguished by its love-shaped, gold-tinted leaves and has adapted to survive in places that have low light as well as in cold environments such as chilly offices. This plant filters the air to remove and reduce nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide.
Conclusion
Botanists recommend that you should position your plants at the rate of one per 100 square feet of space as long as there are no serious air quality issues within the space. They also recommend having a variety of plants in order to ensure maximum absorption of different toxins since different plants have different affinity for various toxins.
