Many people have indoor plants in their homes simply because they look nice, but plants are incredibly effective at purifying the air in your home as well. So effective, in fact, that scientists at both NASA and the National Institutes of Health found that plants have real potential as air purifiers in space.
Plants consume carbon dioxide and absorb sunlight in order to take that carbon atom and use it to grow, releasing the oxygen that we breathe in the process.
Beyond making life as we know it on Earth possible, plants also absorb other compounds out of the air – many of which we don’t want to be breathing in the first place but are present everywhere (although usually in low concentrations) like:
- Benzene, a known carcinogen;
- Formaldehyde, an irritant;
- Ammonia, another irritant;
- Trichloroethylene, which causes dizziness;
- Xylene, which damages your liver and kidneys.
How Many Plants Do I Need in my Home?
Many health scientists recommend having at least one indoor plant per 100 square feet of floor space. That’s quite a few (you’d need four or five in a small one bedroom apartment!), but if you choose hardy, easy-to-care-for plants that won’t take up much of your time, it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. You don’t have to do much research either; this handy infographic can tell you which plants best fit the bill.
Of course, no solution to any problem is perfect – plants can’t absorb things out of the air that won’t pass through the pores in their leaves, such as pet dander, dust and molecules that plants just won’t absorb.
Plus, plants photosynthesize better on days with ideal light and water conditions than others, so they’re not entirely consistent. A Trane electronic air cleaner from Day & Night Air can help keep your air even cleaner than with plants alone. Even better, it can help keep your plants healthier, too.
So, what’s your best bet? It’s a combination of decorating your home with beautiful and functional houseplants and installing a Trane air purifier system.
Contact Day & Night Air for Indoor Air Quality Services in Phoenix!
While we, at Day & Night Air, might not know everything about houseplants (the Valley has plenty of plant nurseries whose staff can help you find the perfect plants for your home), contact us, we’ll help you with a Trane CleanEffects system. You can leave that part to us, while you work on the plants!