Pollutants in the air can easily become trapped in today’s airtight structures, making indoor air quality an increasingly pressing issue. Houseplants are gaining popularity as an attractive and eco-friendly option for improving air quality. But the question is: Do these plants really help make the air inside your home cleaner and healthier to breathe? The answer is yes.
Role of Houseplants in Air Purification
Because they produce oxygen through photosynthesis and absorb carbon dioxide, houseplants are an important component in maintaining healthy indoor air quality. Some plants are extremely good at eliminating dangerous contaminants from indoor spaces, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from paints, carpets and furniture that contain formaldehyde, benzene, or xylene.
Spider Plant
The air-purifying and low-maintenance characteristics of spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) make them a popular houseplant option. You can find formaldehyde in a lot of common household items, including adhesives, textiles, and cigarette smoke, but these plants work wonders when it comes to eradicating it.
Peace Lily
Not only are peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) beautiful to look at, but they can also help reduce exposure to toxic VOCs like benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. Because they require little light, they work well in a variety of interior settings.
Snake Plant
Snake plants (Sansevieria spp.) are perfect houseplants because of their lauded ability to transform carbon dioxide into oxygen during the night. Plus, they work well at eliminating harmful gases from indoor spaces, such as formaldehyde and nitrogen oxides.
Placement and Maintenance Strategies for Air Quality Improvement
Placing the plants near sources of pollutants, like furniture, carpets, and electronics, is key to maximizing their ability to improve the air in your home. Collaborative plant arrangements can further improve air purification by creating microenvironments.
Most of these plants do a better job of filtering indoor air contaminants when placed in rooms with plenty of natural light and excellent ventilation. To ensure they do their job of cleaning the air even better, you should rotate them often and wipe off their leaves every so often to remove dust.
Combining Plants with Other Air Purification Methods
Even though houseplants can do a great job at cleaning indoor air, they work best when combined with other air purification methods. An air quality expert can help you decide the best options for your home.
Duct Cleaning
When air ducts are clean, allergens like dust and mold are less likely to circulate and have an effect on air quality. Houseplants help keep indoor air cleaner by absorbing these pollutants from the HVAC system. Because of this mutual support, combining indoor plants with regular duct cleaning is paramount to making your home a healthier place.
Air Purifiers
If you want to clean the air within your home of allergens like pollen, dust, pet dander, and mold spores, an air purifier is a good investment. Eliminating these contaminants improves indoor air quality and makes it healthier for people with respiratory problems and allergies. In addition to improving the air quality indoors, air purifiers can help indoor plants remove unpleasant smells and VOCs from common sources such as cleaning supplies, cigarette smoke, and kitchen scents.
UV Lights
Houseplants and ultraviolet (UV) lights work together to improve indoor air quality by killing off microbes and fungi. The plants help purify the air by absorbing VOCs like benzene and formaldehyde while UV lamps disinfect the air by killing harmful microbes. Using both methods together ensures an effective filtration procedure that tackles all sorts of indoor air contaminants.
Whole-home Humidifiers and Dehumidifiers
For the sake of your houseplants’ health and the air quality inside your home, it’s a good idea to install a whole-house humidifier and dehumidifier. Plants in the home not only require a humid atmosphere to flourish, but they can also play a role in controlling relative humidity by transpiring when necessary or soaking up surplus moisture. Humidity management systems and houseplants complement each other to create an ideal indoor climate for plant development and human well-being.
Considerations Before Using Plants for Air Quality
Some plants are poisonous to dogs if they eat them, and pollen from other plants can aggravate allergies. You should also think about how much maintenance the plants will demand before deciding to use them as one of your main means of improving the air quality in your home.
OnTIME Service is here to help you decide which types of house plants can improve the air quality in your Henderson, KY home. We offer a variety of indoor air quality solutions, including duct cleaning, air cleaners, and more. We also offer HVAC maintenance and repairs as well as water heater installations and heat pump water heater repairs. Call us today to schedule your consultation.
