“The
air inside the average home is up to five times more polluted than the air outside.”
In fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, the air inside the average home is up to five times more polluted than
the air outside. While moderately alarming on a certain level, it’s really more
of a catalyst for making positive changes in one’s life that not only freshen
up the air, but also allow us to more intimately connect with nature—not merely
when we’re outside, but in the comfort of our own living and working spaces.
The remedy? Air purifying plants, of course.
You see, NASA had a small problem on their hands when it came
to long-period manned space missions. They needed an efficient, lasting source
of clean air to keep astronauts alive and thriving during extended interstellar
travel. What they discovered is that a few common houseplants, and one in
particular—Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (botanical name: Sansevieria trifasciata)—did
the job wonderfully and were also powerful air purifiers to boot.
Despite this alarming situation, there is a simple way for
one to begin reversing the damage. Kamal Meattle, with help from Indian
Institute of Technology – Delhi (IIT-D), The Energy and Resources Institute
(TERI), and research findings from NASA, discovered that there are three common
green plants which can easily produce all the fresh air we need to keep us
healthy: Areca Palm, Mother-in-law’s Tongue, Money Plant.
Areca Palm
No. of plants needed per person: 4
Plant Care: Areca Palms require bright, indirect light from a
south- or west-facing window. The leaves turn yellowish-green in direct
sunlight. Use moist soil and water the plants as soon as the soil feels dry a
little below the surface. Areca Palms do not respond well to overwatering.
Mother-in-law’s Tongue
Plants per person: 6-8 waist-high plants
Plant Care: Very adaptable to different temperatures. Place
in indirect sunlight and don’t water too much.
Peace-lily-plant (Peace Lily, Spathiphyllum)
The Peace Lily is a deep, forest
green plant with beautiful (although fickle) white flowers. It’s a great
general cleanser and air purifying plant that effectively removes all common
indoor pollutants generated by furniture, electronics and cleaning products, so
much so that it is one of NASA’s top-ranked plants for this purpose.
The Peace Lily does well in indirect
light and requires minimal watering with the general guideline being once every
four to five days. In hotter climates it may need water more frequently, and
you’ll know it’s overdue when the leaves begin to weep.
Money Plant
Plant Care: Place in a moderately humid room. Requires
infrequent watering. Very easy to maintain.
The Money Plant removes formaldehydes and other volatile
chemicals from the air.
Money Plant use has been tried and tested in a building in
Delhi with phenomenal results. Compared to other buildings, occupants
experienced a reduction in the incidence of eye irritation by 52%, respiratory
irritation by 34%, headaches by 24%, lung impairment by 12% and asthma by 9%.
Meattle decided to scale up the project and attempt to purify
a 20-year-old, 50,000-square-feet building that housed his nearly 300
employees. After some testing and tweaking they discovered that approximately
six air purifying plants are required per person to meet their daily needs for
fresh, clean, highly oxygenated air.
“Our experience points to an amazing increase in human
productivity by over 20% by using these plants. And also a reduction in energy
requirements in buildings by an outstanding 15%, because you need less fresh
air. We are now replicating this in a 1.75-million-square-feet building, which
will have 60,000 indoor air purifying plants,” stated Meattle in a recent TED
Talk about his work. Meattle also mentions that these studies “have found that
there is a 42% probability of one’s blood oxygen going up by one percent if one
stays indoors in this building for 10 hours. The government of India has
discovered or published a study to show that this is the healthiest building in
New Delhi.”
What can we do now?
First-timers can start with one of each plant above and
graduate to the optimum needs as mentioned above. When the plant grows large
(which takes many years) and needs to be transplanted into the ground, simply
plant it in a suitable spot in your surroundings and take care of it until it
becomes self-sufficient. That way, we can make our personal and environmental
goals align with each other.
