The air inside houses and buildings is very very dirty and we are surrounded by toxic chemicals - gross! Actually, according to the EPA, the air inside is 10 times more polluted than outdoor air. There are many unpleasant reactions to the toxicity of our air such as headaches, asthma, fatigue, mood swings, etc. etc....and long term exposure has been shown to be a cause of many different types of cancer. BUT there are many things you can do to help clean your air and I'm going to write a couple of posts about different ways to do that.
Open your windows for one and let the spring breezes in and the toxic chemicals out....turn on your fans and maybe your attic fan or a/c unit fan to help circulate the air.
You can buy air purifiers, which do work, but they're expensive, require power, and many of them put off alot of ozone and end up creating home smog which isn't desirable to say the least and kind of defeats their intended purpose. However, air purifiers with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filters are the BEST and do NOT put off ozone, but they are the most expensive as well.
A cheaper, prettier, and overall better alternative is to buy houseplants!! Not only do they help bring nature inside your house and are beautiful, but they also help clean your air significantly. Plants function like air pumps basically and can accumulate the toxic chemicals inside your home or office.
Three of the major air offenders in most homes/buildings is Formaldehyde, Benzene, and Trichloroethylene...and the plants that are best at absorbing these chemicals from the air include:
Spider Plant
Ficus
English Ivy
Draceana "Janet Craig"
Peace Lily
Bamboo Palm
Snake Plant or "Mother-in-law's Tongue"
Golden Pothos
Philodendron
and Spathiphyllum...amongst others
From my experience, I think the easiest to start with is a Golden Pothos or a Draceana "Janet Craig"...For you locals, Nicholson-Hardie has the best selection of houseplants I've seen anywhere!
We have many and are planning to get more and I love having them everywhere! They say that for an avg home of 2,000 sq ft, 15-18 houseplants are needed in 6 inch or larger pots for the best results. We constantly give houseplants as gifts to our fam and friends which they probably tire of :) but I think they make great green gifts!
We spend so much time at home and in our offices, and thus they really need to be healthy environments for us and our loved ones - so let's try to make our air cleaner! ...Oh yes and the adorable button flowers in the one pot - my friend Emily made those and I LOVE them!
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