Putting these plants into your home and dojo might do a world of good against all that bad pollution that is out there...Econundrum: 5 Houseplants That Clean Your Air
— By Kiera Butler | Mon November 16, 2009 2:55 AM PST
—Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Anyone who's tried to decorate an apartment on a budget knows that houseplants are great: They're cheap. You can buy 'em at the supermarket. And many are remarkably independent. Plop a philodendron down basically anywhere, and voila: instant hominess.Another houseplant plus: They can clean your air. A team of horticulturists at the University of Georgia recently tested 28 common houseplants to see how well they removed volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—noxious chemicals found in paints, glues, cleaners, and other things around the home—from indoor air. They found that most of the plants tested filtered at least some of the chemicals. The plants themselves do some of the work through photosynthesis, but their soil helps, too, says Bodie Pennisi, a University of Georgia horticulture professor who was involved with the study. "During the day the plant does it; during the night‚ tiny soil organisms remove gases when the plant is not as active."
The five species listed below were the all-around top scorers; they excelled at removing all the chemicals tested.
(list can be found at this link:http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/11/econundrum-5-houseplants-clean-your-air )
This is from one of the comments (edited) Those plants might be good for absorbing certain airborne chemicals, but none of them are especially easy to maintain. They all need a fair amount of light, and none of them can be just "plopped down" and ignored. The purple waffle in particular is difficult to keep in good condition for very long and many sources don't recommend them as houseplants.
