Oops. I do rigorous fact-checking before publishing anything but it seems I got this wrong. Research now shows there’s no point putting plants in your home to purify the air.
In my first book, published in 1996, I stated, ‘We can benefit from research funded by NASA to discover ways of cleansing the air in space capsules. They discovered in the course of this research that several ordinary types of houseplants have the ability to cleanse many of the most common pollutants from the air, including formaldehyde.’
The research was headed by B.C. Wolverton, author of How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office, in which he listed all the plants he had tested and their purifying capabilities.
Why plants don’t purify the air in our homes
Since then, 195 further studies have been done. They confirm that some types of plants can indeed remove the toxins of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the air. BUT ONLY IN AN AIRTIGHT ENVIRONMENT such as a space capsule.
The buildings we occupy here on Earth are not like that at all. They have doors and windows that open to let in air. They have crevices through which drafts can pass. They are designed to have a circulation of air.
The new studies show that to improve air quality in an ordinary home you would need 1-10 plants for every square foot of floor space to achieve the same level of purification that mechanical office ventilation does. In other words, there would be no room for you!
Electric air purifiers
So I must offer many apologies to anyone who went out and bought a Peace Lily on the strength of my recommendation. I bought quite a few myself and they are beautiful plants. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I’ve enjoyed mine. But it seems they are only decorative.
Indoor air pollution has become a hot topic in recent years so research is ongoing to find affordable solutions. At the moment, if the air in your home is polluted or you suffer from allergies, the best I can suggest is to invest in a reliable electric air purifier, and be sure to get the kind that removes VOCs as well as dust, mould and other airborne pollutants. You’d think all air purifiers would do this but in fact many don’t.
Copyright © Clear Space Living Ltd, 2019
More information
A popular benefit of houseplants is a myth
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I was almost about to ask about resources for figuring out if an air purifier is even necessary, e.g. what pollution levels needs to be and so forth in order for it to make sense to even buy one. I found this map of the world and figured it might be helpful to others reading this article as well: Air Pollution in World: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map
Karen, are there any air purifiers that you would recommend?
Hi Veleka – The best I have found is the Airwise air purifier, which has the added advantage of being totally silent.