TOP 10 Plants Most Effective in Removing: Formaldeyde, Benzene, and Carbon Mono

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Indoor Plants - Clean Air

 

TOP 10 Plants Most Effective in Removing:

Formaldeyde, Benzene, and Carbon Monoxide from Air

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Common indoor houseplants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against

rising levels of indoor air pollution. The plants in your office or home are

not only decorative, but NASA scientists are finding them surprisingly

useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside

modern

buildings.

 

A sophisticated pollution-absorbing device: the common indoor plant may

provide a natural way of helping combat " Sick Building Syndrome " .

Research into the use of biological processes to solve environmental

problems, both on Earth and in space has been carried out for many years by Dr.

Bill

Wolverton, formerly a senior research scientist at NASA's John C. Stennis

Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Based on preliminary evaluations of the use of common indoor plants for

indoor air purification and revitalization a study using about a dozen popular

varieties of houseplants was done to determine their effectiveness in removing

several key pollutants associated with indoor air pollution.

NASA research on indoor plants found that living plants are so efficient at

absorbing contaminants in the air that some will be launched into space as

part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space

stations.

While more research is needed, Wolverton's study showed that common indoor

landscaping plants can remove certain pollutants from the indoor environment.

" We feel that future results will provide an even stronger argument that

common indoor landscaping plants can be a very effective part of a system used

to

provide pollution free homes and work places, " he concludes.

Each plant type was placed in sealed, Plexiglas chambers in which chemicals

were injected. Philodendron, spider plant and the golden pothos were labeled

the most effective in removing formaldehyde molecules.

Flowering plants such as gerbera daisy and chrysanthemums were rated superior

in removing benzene from the chamber atmosphere. Other good performers are

Dracaena Massangeana, Spathiphyllum, and Golden Pothos. " Plants take

substances out of the air through the tiny openings in their leaves, " Wolverton

said.

" But research in our laboratories has determined that plant leaves, roots

and soil bacteria are all important in removing trace levels of toxic vapors " .

" Combining nature with technology can increase the effectiveness of plants

in removing air pollutants, " he said. " A living air cleaner is created by

combining activated carbon and a fan with a potted plant. The roots of the plant

grow right in the carbon and slowly degrade the chemicals absorbed there, "

Wolverton explains.

Read Wolverton's book How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants to Purify Your

Home or Office

NASA research has consistently shown that living, green and flowering plants

can remove several toxic chemicals from the air in building interiors. You

can use plants in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make

it a more pleasant place to live and work - where people feel better,

perform better, any enjoy life more.