Friday, March 26, 2010

Natural Indoor Air Cleaners

Indoor plants can be a great and natural way to clean the air that you breathe while inside your home. NASA even says so! This is how it works. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen as part of the photosynthesis process. Some plants are great for cleaning formaldehyde from the air, which is found more in prefabricated or modular homes, and others are good at removing benzene.
Soil and roots have also been found to play an important role in removing air-borne pollutants. Micro-organisms in the soil become more adept at using trace amounts of these materials as a food source, as they are exposed to them for longer periods of time. Cut back the lower leaves to expose more soil for better effectiveness.

NASA recommends that you use 15- 18 good sized houseplants to improve air quality in an average 1,800 square foot house. The plants that NASA recommends are:
English Ivy, Spider Plant, Golden Pathos, Peace Lily, Chinese Evergreen, Bamboo or Reed Palm, Snake Plant, Heartleaf Philodendron, Selloum Philodendron, Red-edged Dracaena, Cornstalk Dracaena, Warneck Dracaena, and a Weeping Fig.

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