Doing Their Part, Nature's Air Purifiers

For as long as I can remember there were plants all throughout our household. Some, like the Aloe Vera, I understood. More than once during my childhood I had the gel from this plant applied to burns. What can I say? It took me a while to catch on to cooking. Other plants, like the spider plant, cactus, and a variety of ferns, seemed to have little value to me aside from giving me a new source of dirt in which to play. After high school, I picked up the habit of keeping at least a couple spider plants in the apartments or houses where I have lived, and aside from their aesthetic appeal, plants have a practical purpose in the home.

As technology and advances in home building has grown, houses have become more tightly sealed. More tightly sealed homes help reduce your heating and cooling costs but unlike the drafty house I grew up in, the air inside newer houses is not often exchanged with outside air. Harsh chemicals used in the production and treatment of wood, carpet, furniture and paint remained trapped. Add to this a few burnt dinners, a pet and a smoker and you can see how the air inside your home can be just as, if not more, polluted than outside air. This is partly why we stress the use of an air purifier so much.

Air purifiers will filter and trap dust, pollen, odors, VOC’s, chemicals and other pollutants found more commonly in modern homes. In addition to these, keeping a few plants around the house is a good idea. Certain plants have the innate ability to filter chemicals, like benzene or formaldehyde, very efficiently. A Peace Lily, like the one in our office, effectively removes benzene, xylene and toluene, while a spider plant will absorb formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is commonly found in glues and resins used in flooring, furniture, cabinets, and countertops, among other things. This increasingly important chemical can be found in nearly all aspects of our lives, yet simply because it is present does not make it safe.

Short and long term exposure to formaldehyde can have serious consequences to your health, particularly your respiratory system. However, plants like the spider plant will absorb significant amounts of these chemicals. Different varieties of Dracaenas, Philodendrons, palms and ferns all have been shown to absorb chemicals commonly off-gassed by flooring, paint, carpet, etc.

Some people have concerns about plants inside the home and not without reason. Plants do often accumulate dust. One way I get around this is periodically setting my houseplants outside when it is about to rain. If I don’t feel like packing them outside, I place them in the kitchen sink and rinse them with the kitchen sprayer. Both ways work well to eliminate dust. Mold is another concern some people have with keeping plants. As a general rule, if plants are growing in ideal conditions, mold will not be an issue. Often overwatering is the culprit in mold formation. Mold needs moisture, and overwatering your plants can create an environment where mold can flourish.

Regardless of your situation, a few plants around the house can be very beneficial. When used with other allergy control measures they can be add a little color and life to your home as well as do their part to keep the air you breathe clean.