Indoor plants can brighten up a room and make it more inviting, but can they actually “clean” the air?
Studies by scientists at NASA, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Georgia and other respected institutions suggest that they can. Plants are indispensable to human life. Through photosynthesis, they convert the carbon dioxide we exhale into fresh oxygen, and they can also remove toxins from the air we breathe. The amount of leaf surface area influences the rate of air purification.
How poluted is your air?
When you think of indoor health hazards, exposure to air pollution is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. However, the air circulating inside our buildings contains pollutants like carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, and carbonyls. VOCs are a group of chemicals that are released from plastics and synthetics. In your home or office, they can come from carpets, furniture, glues, computers, detergents and paints. The percentages of all these pollutants are all significantly higher inside than outside, and this can have a very real impact on our health.
The solution
The good news is that indoor plants can remove VOCs 24/7 by absorbing and degrading air pollutants and releasing oxygen into the air as part of the photosynthetic process.
Plants are adept at absorbing gases through pores on the surface of their leaves. It’s part of the process of photosynthesis where the plants convert light energy and carbon dioxide into chemical energy to fuel their growth. Plants help manage carbon dioxide levels. Various research groups have analyzed the effect of indoor plants on air quality in workplaces and found that in offices with plants, CO2 levels are reduced by 10% in an air-conditioned building and 25% in buildings without air-conditioning.
Indoor plants serve a practical and aesthetic purpose. They provide a source of joy and inner peace while also working behind the scenes to “clean” the air you breathe.
To find out more about how plants can help clean the air in your home or office Give us a call!
