This is from, believe it or not, the Earthship website.  We’ll be talking about Earthships on Tuesday’s green building episode of This Green Earth.  (Google Earthship and Images if you haven’t the slightest idea what I’m talking about).  Anyway, one of the best things you can do in your home or office for indoor air quality is buy a plant.  Here are the top 10 plants and how they can help your indoor environment.  I added the photos, because I don’t recognize plants by their names, but otherwise this is all theirs: Adiantum absorbs radiation from computers and printers. Adiantum absorbs 20 micrograms of formaldehyde per hour and it is considered the most effective natural cleaner.  If you work with paint or have smokers around you, you should consider Adiantum.  This plant also absorbs Xylene and Toluene released by monitors and printers. Aloe “signals for help” when in excessively harmful air. Aloe is dubbed as an air cleaning expert. One pot of aloe is equal to nine biological air cleaners. 

Aloe absorbs formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide. When the amount of toxins in the air have exceeded healthy amounts the leaves on the Aloe plant become spotted, signaling for help. Rubber trees are helpful in eliminating harmful substances. The rubber tree is a multi-functional cleaner that eliminates harmful substances in the air.  They can absorb carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and they collect granules which help reduce the dust around you. Asparagus can kill viruses and bacteria. The fragrance of asparagus absorbs the bacteria and viruses in the air which can help optimize your health. Ivy is the king in absorbing formaldehyde. Ivy is the most effective indoor plant in absorbing formaldehyde. Ivy per square meter can absorb 1.49 grams of formaldehyde.  It also absorbs harmful substances like benzene.  In 24 hours, ivy can absorb 90% of indoor benzene. Cacti is the best in reducing radiation and bacteria. Cacti is very strong in eliminating bacteria. 

In tackling pollution, cacti is also great at reducing radiation.  In addition, cacti absorbs carbon dioxide at night to release oxygen. Chlorophytum (umm, isn’t this a spider plant?) is an air filter itself. Chlorophytum can perform photosynthesis under weak light and absorb harmful air.  One pot of Chlorophytum in 200 square foot room is enough to perform as an air filter, which releases oxygen and absorbs carcinogens like formaldehyde and styrene. Chlorophytum is very strong in absorbing carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.  It decomposes benzene and nicotine in tobacco as well. Clivia keeps air fresh in winter. One adult Clivia can absorb one liter of air and release 80% of oxygen overnight.  It can perform photosynthesis under very weak light.  Two or three pots of clivia in a room can absorb the smoke. Monstera improves air quality at night. Monstera is really good at absorbing formaldehyde.  It also absorbs carbon dioxide at night and releases the oxygen, so it is helpful in improving air quality.

It is also good looking and relatively easy to maintain. Pachira absorbs smoke well. If you can’t avoid smokers in your life, you can put pachira around you, which is effective at absorbing smoke. air duct cleaning canton michiganIt also absorbs carbon dioxide and monoxide, and releases oxygen.cleaning an iwata eclipse airbrushThe air quality in your home is of utmost importance. honeywell air purifier distributorsModern homes and businesses emit gases and expose us to chemicals, fumes, toxins, smoke, viruses, and bacteria with all kinds of adverse consequences. Indoor air on average, is 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoors. In the Western world we spend up to 90 percent of our time indoors.

Especially children seem to suffer from poor indoor air quality and incidence of asthma and allergies is skyrocketing especially in urban areas. It is said that house plants can significantly reduce the amount of pollutants in the indoor environment. Which, on itself, sounds very plausible. After all plants, by photosynthesis, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen to the air and it’s not for no reason that the Amazonian rainforest is are called ‘the lungs of the world’. Also, the use of plants could be very beneficial since air purifiers and filtration systems are not able to filter all indoor air pollutants But do plants really clean the air in our homes? And if so, how substantial is their contribution? How effective are housep plants at purifying the air in our homes? As is often the case there’s some good and some bad news. Let’s see what studies and other scientific research has to say. Here’s a critical look at the benefits of house plants when it comes to purifying the air in our homes.

Studies show that plants can offer a natural and benign way to assist the filtration of indoor air. Plants can remove toxicants and absorb pollutants by metabolizing them into harmless byproducts and by isolating them via incorporating them into plant tissues. However, not all plants are equally beneficial when it comes to removing harmful airborne substances. Also it is not clear if all toxins can be removed by plants. And there are some limitations. That’s why scientists conclude that: “It is not yet possible to project the true potential of plants for purifying indoor air,”  “At this time the role of plants, though appearing [generally] positive, is not totally clear.” said Stanley J. Kays, University of Georgia Indoor air quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within buildings and structures, as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. IAQ can be affected by many things, to include: ●    Gases (such as carbon monoxide, radon, and volatile organic compounds [VOCs])

●    Microbial contaminants (molds and bacteria) ●    Stressors that can induce adverse health conditions. The primary methods of controlling IAQ in most buildings include source control, filtration, and the use of ventilation to dilute contaminants. Let’s say, taking the limitations in account, you will use plants for their purifying properties. Which types are best? In studies houseplants were assessed on their ability to clean indoor air based on the following criteria: Table 1 lists the top-ten plants beneficial for cleaning indoor air, based on a study involving 50 different plant species. Top-Ten             Houseplant Air Cleaners Source: (Zhang, Jensen, Wang, Zhiqiang, & Ren, Dacheng, 2010, December). Some plants are more efficient at removing certain chemicals from the air than others. Ferns had the highest formaldehyde-removal efficiency of all the plants tested, especially Osmunda japonica, commonly known as Japanese royal fern, or zenmai.12

As usual, there’s a downside. A 2009 study by Kays et al showed that some houseplants as well as the plastic pots, the soil, the microorganisms present, and the pesticides used for growing, may possibly contaminate the air in our homes with VOCs.16 Placing potted plants around a room may have little beneficial effects, as the leaves of the plants have a limited ability to absorb large-quantities of contaminants. The effectiveness of DBAF and the biowall bore fruit when ambient air in a room passed over the roots of the plants so the microbes which inhabit the root-zone could be used to metabolize contaminants. Though studies have shown that systems like DBAF and the biowall can work, further consideration may be necessary before such methods can be adopted for wide spread general use. Furthermore, additional study is needed on microbial contaminant degradation of airborne contaminants using these methods. It is been shown that root-microbes can metabolize formaldehyde, but more study is needed for the different VOCs and the rates of metabolic-reduction which can be expected.