ALERT! Here’s what happened.
This is actually a cautionary tale of what could happen. Some house plants are known to filter impurities such as formaldehyde out of indoor air. But not all plants can serve as air filters, and some that do are poisonous if ingested. For example, azaleas, a type of rhododendron, full of bright colored flowers in the spring, are often given as a house plant gift. These plants can be extremely dangerous to infants, to the point that they can cause death if the infant ingests enough. This would be a tragic outcome from innocently gifting a plant with pretty flowers to a family with an infant.
Things to consider. NASA researched ways to clean air in space stations, and contacted Dr. Wolverton, an environmental engineer, to help study air-filtering plants. In addition to absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen as all plants do, there were several plants that eliminated significant amounts of benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, and / or trichlorethylene.
Dr. Wolverton assembled his findings in How To Grow Fresh Air – 50 Houseplants that Purify Your Home Or Office, where he presents 50 houseplants that can filter air in our homes. For each he includes photographs and a description, what type of light conditions the plant requires, how to care for it, and any pests or problems that it might attract. You can order a copy of this great book in our store tab above.
An indoor houseplant such as this Boston Fern is one of the best plants for purifying indoor air. It can be placed on a stand like it is in the picture or hanging from a bracket or ceiling. However, it is a perfect plant for a family with young children or pets because it is not poisonous if they decide that it would make a good snack. Leave space in your home for plants, as they are great natural air purifiers removing chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, and toluene.
For those of us that love living houseplants, we usually place our houseplants all together in the great room, the sitting room, and maybe even the kitchen. However, to get the full benefit that a plant can provide in terms of purifying the air we breathe, it’s better to place them all around our home. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the air inside the bedroom where we spend hours sleeping, is being naturally purified by a plant, both day and night.
While silk plants may be very attractive, they can become dust collectors and serve as a trigger for allergies and asthma. Living plants are much healthier for us to have around (so long as you don’t pick poisonous ones) than air fresheners, which may smell good, but are emitting chemicals into the air which we are then inhaling. Some of us are very sensitive to chemicals in the air and they too can be a trigger for allergies and asthma.
TAKE ACTION! Here’s the good news about what you can do.
Replace any silk plants in your home with living houseplants. The silk variety can only serve as dust collectors as they give the illusion of greenery. The living plants not only bring greenery and nature indoors, but can also purify the air we are breathing. Find out which plants best serve as air filters.
To be most effective, we should have 1 potted houseplant per 100 square feet of home or office space as suggested by NASA. Examples are the Boston Fern which is non-toxic and effective in filtering out formaldehyde, toluene, and xylene. The Peace Lily is beautiful and effective in removing benzene and trichloroethylene from indoor air, but it is considered toxic if ingested by children or pets.
To find out more about air filtering plants you can order Dr. Wolverton’s book by going to our ‘store’ tab above. Dr. Wolverton’s book is a great resource, but he does not include which ones may be toxic to children or pets. You can order my FREE report “Checklist: 10 Plants That Can Filter VOCs From My Home”, where you’ll find which plants are toxic and which plants are not.
