They are not just beautiful....

Improve the indoor air quality with plants in your house

Including a few plants in an interior can add the little extra touch that will make the room look finished and sophisticated. One can play with colourful flowers and textured foliage, everything is allowed.
The very interesting thing is that not only will a plant add the aesthetic of the interior, but it will also have a beneficial result on the indoor air quality.

Surveys have shown that our indoor air quality can be worst than the outside air quality. Isn’t it worrying to imagine that it would actually be better to get on the pavement and breath the air behind the street traffic? With our houses getting more and more air-tight, if a good ventilation system is not in place, then whatever enters the house, will stay. This is where plants can help as they reduce the amount of certain pollutants present in our houses. It is advised to keep one plant per 10 .square metres of floor space (assuming the ceiling has an average height of 2.3-2.6 m)

Here are some useful plants to have in the house:

Dracaena absorbs formaldehyde products that often found in wooden glues. It doesn’t like when the temperature goes below 15C. Perfect for a bedroom or any room with agglomerated furniture.

Peace lily absorbs ammonia ( present in may cleaning products) and xylene. It needs a temperature from 18 to 22C. A good plant for a bathroom.

Kimberley queen is a number one fighter against formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, benzene and trichloroethylene. Its best temperature is around 15C or a little bit more. It is a good plant for a kitchen or a bathroom where there is a lot of moisture.

Spider plant is very efficient to absorb toluene mono-carbon oxide, benzene, formaldehyde and xylene, and is a good choice for a bathroom or any room with an extra heating system.

The leaves absorb the chemical component, so the bigger the foliage the most efficient the plant is in fighting indoor pollution. When the leaves are small but present in quantity, they represent a big surface to absorb substances.

This list is not exhaustive, and there probably are many other beneficial plants that haven't been studied yest as such. It certainly is a good idea to have plants at home, enjoy them for their beauty and let them help us breath a cleaner air!

Note:
Dr Wolverton’s research has shown the following plants to be the most effective all-rounder in counteracting off-gassed chemicals and contributing to balanced internal humidity. Most are easy to maintain.
Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)
Bamboo palm ( Chamaedora seifrizii)
Dwarf date plant (Phoenix roebelenii)
Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata bostoniensis)
Dracaena "Janet Craig" ( Dracaena deremensis "Janet Craig")
English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Kimberley queen (Nephrolepis oblirata)
Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii)
Rubber plant (Ficus robusta)
Spider plant Chlorophytum comosum variegatum)

Bibliography: The healthy home handbook - Alan Berman
Maison revue verte - aout-septembre-octobre 2010 Lafont presse

Emmanuelle Lemoine