Breath a little easier, naturally

In our effort to make our homes more eco-friendly and energy efficient we have sealed up our homes to prevent cool air from escaping in the summer and warm air seeping out in the winter, and in doing so have trapped indoor pollutants in our living and breathing space.

I don’t mean to be an alarmist, but the materials used to construct our homes, furniture, carpeting, and many other common household products emit harmful vapors into the trapped air in our homes. The most common chemicals are formaldehyde from carpets, plywood, furniture, and insulation; benzene from particle board and paints; trichloroethylene from paints, lacquers, and varnishes; and carbon monoxide. An accumulation of these chemicals in our homes has the potential to cause a variety of health problems including respiratory issues and skin problems.

Before you rush to the mountains or move into a cave, you should know that there is a simple solution to this problem, common house plants. You could also open doors and windows to ventilate your home, but for summers in the Southwest and winters in the Northeast this is not a viable solution. Going green indoors is an effective and inexpensive way to combat this issue.

NASA conducted a study in the early 80s, in an effort to find a way to purify the air in their space stations and found that common houseplants can remove up to 85 percent of the airborne pollutants and help control humidity levels. Over the last 20 years subsequent studies have verified NASA’s results proving that houseplants can purify the air in our homes at a rate of one or two plants per 100-square-feet of home. These studies have also shown that in addition to removing pollutants, they can also remove up to 50 percent of airborne molds and reduce dust particles by as much as 20 percent.

There are many other benefits to bringing some living, breathing green into your life; plants can make rooms feel warm, friendly, and more inviting, they can lower blood pressure and stress levels, and can help improve concentration.

There are a wide variety of houseplants that are especially effective at removing the pollutants in our homes and most are low maintenance and even hard to kill for you non-green thumbs. These plants are effective air purifiers and only require minimal water and sunlight, and an occasional dusting:

Bamboo Palm: formaldehyde, CO2, benzene, trichloroethylene

English Ivy: formaldehyde, CO2, benzene, mold

Peace Lily: formaldehyde, CO2, benzene, trichloroethylene

Spider Plants: formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene

Dracaena: formaldehyde, CO2, benzene

Several other common houseplants varieties are sturdy and work well as natural air filters, it all depends on your preference in plant style: Rubber trees, Golden Pathos, Ficus, Chinese Evergreens, and Snake Plants come in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes. Check your local nursery for the plant that best fit your needs and climate.

You can all breath a little easier now that you know about our little green helpers, the common houseplant. No need to get rid of all your furniture, carpeting, and interior walls of your home, just pick up a few house plants, give them a little TLC and take a deep breath.

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