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By: S.A. Smith
Why spend thousands of dollars on
expensive home air filtration systems when you can take
steps to naturally improve your indoor air quality with
organic and living air filters that cost little to acquire
and maintain?
People usually ignore the threats of indoor air pollution.
Since we stay most of the times indoors, it becomes
necessary to maintain the indoor air quality. There are
several factors, which affect the indoor air quality. Those
include cigarette smoke, building materials, floor
coverings, paints, adhesives and other sources. The
situation becomes worse in office buildings with lots of
other sources of pollutants. Tools such as printers, fax
machines, photocopiers, paper and pressboard furniture emit
different types of harmful contaminants. Those include
ammonia, benzene, xylene, toluene, trichloroethylene,
formaldehyde, etc. Regular exposure these contaminants leads
to different types of disorders such as breathing problems,
headaches, burning eyes and throat, lethargy and other
allergy-like symptoms.
The most natural way to fight indoor air pollution is to use
Plants. Besides brightening up a room, they have real
benefits in improving the indoor air quality. They absorb
various toxic emissions from the synthetic materials such as
carpeting, paint and furniture. As a result, we can have
cleaner and more pure air to breathe inside our homes or
offices. NASA scientists have found out that indoor plants
can extract volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from the air.
They contain toxic vapors such as ammonia, benzene, xylene,
toluene, trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, etc. Plants break
down the chemicals after absorbing them into their leaves.
They absorb the chemicals through stomata, the microscopic
openings in the leaves. Then the toxins reach the root zone
where the root microbes of the plants biodegrade the
pollutants. The plants use these biodegraded pollutants as
food.
The plants filter harmful indoor irritants to provide clean
air for breathing. They are good for health and living
environment in both homes and offices. Researchers have
found that keeping plants indoors can reduce respiratory
problems and increase the energy level.
Plants in office can make the workers more productive by
reducing their fatigue. A plant on the desk can make them
feel better who work at computers for more than four hours a
day. A Lady Palm plant in a 10 or 12-inch container may be a
good choice for the purpose.
According to studies, patients recover from illness and
surgery more quickly when they are close to nature. Indoor
plants in hospitals can help the patients recover early. At
home also, indoor plants will improve your mood and health.
They reduce the chances of falling ill. According to a
study, plants reduce coughs, sore throats, fatigue and other
cold-related symptoms by more than 30 percent.
A U.S. government study states that 15 to 18 houseplants in
six- to eight-inch containers are sufficient to purify the
air quality in a 1,800-square-foot house. However, remember
that some houseplants can be poisonous to your health.
Therefore, you need to be very careful while choosing plants
for your home or office.
Some of the best plants for indoors include palms, peace
lilies, ferns, spider plants, rubber plants, chrysanthemums,
ivy, dracaena, etc. Spider plants and rubber plants are
effective in removing formaldehyde in air. Dwarf date palms
contain xylene in air. Chrysanthemums are good against the
benzene and toxins in new paint, while azaleas works well
against the irritants in foam carpet pads or insulation.
Some other plants are good against almost all types of
indoor pollutants. Those include bamboo and areca palms,
peace lily, the Boston fern and Gerbera daisy.
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