Air Purifying House Plants

Have you heard of sick building syndrome? It's now pretty much common-knowledge that working and living indoors isn't always a great environment for your health. Lack of air-flow indoors can lead to a toxic interior in which pollution builds up and can lead to many different health problems including asthma, depression, headaches, fatigue, flu-like symptoms and many more. The most common culprits in the home and office are soft furnishings including carpets, furniture upholstery, synthetic building materials, plastics, cleaning materials and more. Those lovingly-purchased digital items of technology also give off polluting gases and crowd the air with unnatural chemicals. Static electricity is also another common result of dry, unhealthy air.

What can you do, apart from keeping the windows open?

Buy house plants! In 1989, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) discovered that plants can absorb harmful toxins from indoor environments, effectively cleaning the air that we breathe. They are natural, cost-effective, therapeutic and keep growing, so in effect they become more efficient the longer you keep them. Here are some bonus benefits too:

• Plants are capable of improving mood and increasing productivity.
• They can help in reducing stress and tiredness.
• The colour green is beneficial to the eyesight.
• Plants are said to enhance concentration and improve memory.
• And, of course, they absorb toxins and effectively clean the air.

How many plants should you have? As many as possible! But choose the best for this particular purpose. Around three plants per 50 square metres is ideal. The plants in this section have been found to be the most effective at cleaning indoor air. What's more, they are beautiful too.

Click here to read more about the air-purifying and health benefits of house plants.