Plants For Cleaner Indoor Air

Since our carpet upstairs is getting older and I have dust allergies we decided to pull it out of our bedroom before our new bed arrived.  We knew from previous experience that we had wide board pine floors upstairs and since I am a fan of painted floors we decided to paint the floor.  Thus making the floor easier to clean as far as dust goes.  Unfortunately I did not do due diligence when picking out my floor paint this time and although it only has 50 VOC it still apparently is an issue for me.  The smell is still lingering after a month of airing out the room.  I used Valspar paint for the walls which is no VOC and is really easy for me to use.  It is a bit smelly while applying but I don’t get headaches or sinus issues during the process.  The next day the smell is gone from that paint.  We have lots of plants downstairs but I haven’t really invaded our upstairs with them at this point because I have more plants to remember to water then.

Eventually I remembered about plants cleaning the air and I thought, well it is time to get them for the bedroom.  In doing a bit of research I decided on bringing my spider plant up from downstairs – it may have to be moved if it doesn’t seem like it is getting enough light though.  The room has one north and one east window but where the plant hook is it is a bit darker.  The other three plants I brought up are great for low light rooms – peace lily, snake plant, and arrowhead vine.  All four plants are really forgiving and I usually wait until they wilt before watering- mainly because I forget, but it is better for them to dry out a bit before watering to prevent root rot and mold issues in the soil which is also not great for breathing conditions and would totally defeat my purpose.  According to the information on found on the source links below the plants I have remove formaldehyde, VOC Benzene, Trichlorethylene.  Many other plants are good for the air and I highly recommend you try it too.  Especially this time of year when we close up our houses it is important to consider indoor air quality. Plants help to purify the air and I find they make a home cozy and more inviting as well.  With so many options out there anyone should be able to find a houseplant that they can live with. 

Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum) formaldehyde

Green Spider plant (Chlorophytum elatum) formaldehyde 

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”) Trichlorethylene (TCE), VOC Benzene, formaldehyde

Snake Plant or Mother-in-laws Tongue (Sansevieria laurentii)  Trichlorethylene (TCE), Benzene

For more information on other house plants and the help they can give you see the following links:

http://www.manyhatspublications.com/article-154.html

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073077.pdf

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_futurebeyond28.htm

http://www.healthyhouseplants.com/index.php/clean-the-air.html

http://prepperswill.com/10-amazing-air-purifying-survival-plants/

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20452423_20892303,00.html

http://communitytable.parade.com/216844/juliebawdendavis/the-9-best-houseplants-for-cleaning-air-and-filtering-toxins/