A two year study conducted by NASA has proven that common household plants are indeed helpful in removing harmful pollutants from the air around them. This means that the air within your home can be a little cleaner to breathe if you simply allow a few friendly little houseplants to come and share your humble abode with you. Houseplants help to purify the air!
You may be wondering why you have to clean the air in your home when you have worked so diligently to maintain a clean and germ free home? Well that extra housecleaning, and the household cleaning products that you have been using to do it, might actually be adding to the level of toxins contained in the air within your home. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies indicate that air levels within an enclosed area may be two to five times more polluted than that of outdoor levels, and in some cases, indoor air may actually be up to one hundred times more polluted than outdoor air levels.
So where does this indoor air pollution come from? Some is produced within your home and some arrives through improper ventilation systems. Chemical leakage within the home occurs from such common household items as rugs, paint, photo copiers, pesticides, plastics, pressed wood products, household cleaners, and even the very air fresheners designed to mask those annoying odors within your home. Cigarette smoking, radon gas leakage, mildew, mold are other indoor toxin contributors. Inadequate or faulty ventilation systems may also allow for the entry of harmful gases into the home.
During the early and mid 1900's these pollutants were not such a problem because building ventilation standards asked that fifteen cubic feet per minute of outdoor air be allowed for each person within the building. This usually allowed for ample fresh air within an enclosed area so as to prevent an excessive buildup of pollutants. However this all changed in the 1970's when the "1973 Oil Embargo" set off a chain of energy conservation measures that were to also tighten air quality controls within homes. After these measures were put in place, homes were designed and built to be much more air tight, and therefore energy efficient. The building ventilation standards were tightened to allow for only five cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per occupant, windows and doors were tightly sealed to prevent air leakage, and air vents, heating units and air conditioners were designed to minimize external air return within the home. This all added up to an overdose of indoor pollutants, and a new syndrome to emerge known as "Sick Building Syndrome", whereby individuals found themselves poisoned by the very air within their enclosed work or home space.
Carbon Monoxide, Formaldehyde, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Monoxide, Radon gas, lead dust, asbestos fibers, pollen, dust mites, mildew, mold, bacteria, pet dander and other indoor pollutants were poisoning people. Standards were readjusted to allow levels between fifteen cubic feet of fresh air per minute per person and sixty cubic feet of fresh air per minute within buildings depending upon the buildings risk for pollutants. Despite these measures high indoor pollution levels still exist within many homes, some due the consequences of previous energy conservation guidelines, and some because of high toxicity levels from chemicals within cleaning and other common household products that are within the home.
It is up to you to insure that your living area is as healthy as it can possibly be. One simple step is to adopt a few all important houseplants to help purify the air within your home. The houseplants that were shown to best help clean the contained air were surprisingly of a wide variety of species. It was also discovered that the different species of plants were shown to best remove certain or distinct toxins from the air around them. The Philodendron, Spider plant and the Golden pothos were most effective in removing formaldehyde from the air. While the flowering plants Gerbera daisy and Chrysanthemum were best at removing benzene from the air. The Bamboo palm, Peace lily - Spathiphyllum, Fig tree or Ficus, Dracaena massangeana cane, Mother-in-Law's tongue, English Ivy as well as Chinese evergreen species were all also shown to be effective plants for removing pollutants from an enclosed air area. Any of these top air purifying plants would be wonderful to put on your adoption list.
It is important to note before you purchase a Philodendron that this plant is poisonous due the oxalates found within it. This toxicity can be passed to humans through simple touching of the plant but poisoning is most often noticed if ingestion of the plant itself occurs. It is therefore not a plant that is suitable for homes with young children or pets that might accidently poison themselves by playing or consuming the Philodendron.
Sources:
http://www.lungusa.org/site/c.dvLUK9O0E/b.315952/k.4 FD/Indoor_Air_Pollution.htm
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/sbs.html
http://www.colormegreenco.com/NASA/nasa.htm