Indoor plants: ‘it’s all hot air’
STUDY: THEY DON’T PRODUCE ENOUGH CLEAN AIR
You don’t have to get rid of them – but must also keep home ventilated.
Aresearch study in the United States has claimed that indoor plants do not clean the air enough to make a difference in the home. The study into indoor air quality was conducted by Richard
Corsi, PhD, a professor of engineering and computer science at Portland State University.
More effective alternatives, he suggests are to keep doors and windows open and install an air purifier with specialised filters that removes particle pollutants called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in spray aerosols and strong cleaning agents.
The growers of indoor plants are up in arms, seeing it as negative publicity for plants.
But I think we should pause and take a deep breath. One the one hand, it is quite possible that the air purifying abilities of plants has been overstated, most likely because we are always looking for the silver bullet and plants, being natural, feel like the safest, more affordable option.
On the other hand, no one can deny the role of plants as green lungs, able to clean and cool the environment. Without plants we would not survive because they release oxygen and absorb carbon.
Why else is the deforestation of the Amazon, our most effective green lung, regarded as such an environmental disaster. Programmes to slow down desertification, to green our cities, promote biodiversity and protect pollinators all testify to the incredible importance of plants for the health of our environment.
Plants do have air purifying abilities, and some are better than others, like sansevieria (mother-in-law tongue) Spathiphyllum (peace plant), asplenium (bird’s nest fern) and dracaena, but of course they cannot compete with the technology of an air purifier or conditioner designed to work on a scale beyond the reach of a roomful of plants.
But that is not the only benefit of plants. Imagine a world, a city, and a home without plants. Plants are alive, growing, flowering and fruiting. They connect us to nature and meet our need to nurture. By ensuring their survival, we are in turn nurtured, calmed, and enthralled by them.
In his book on growing roses, Ludwig Taschner writes that it has been found that intense observation of a colour can influence the chemistry of the human body – especially blood pressure.
In this way, colour influences our feelings of well-being or distress, which is why plants are so effective as indoor decor.
For instance, yellow is a stimulating colour that encourages creativity, red is an energising colour while blue and green are soothing colours. As living spaces get smaller, indoor plants offer an almost infinite variety of colour, texture, and form for transforming a hole in the corner. Pets might not be allowed, but plants are.
As an office companion, the bird’s nest fern next to my computer is my muse, as well as a visual relief from the computer screen and rest for my eyes. Early scientific research into colours in the 1950s found that surroundings of green were calming and least tiring for the eyes, aiding productivity.
It is not about plants versus technology in the quest for cleaner air, but rather about exploring the most effective or environmentally friendly solutions to a particular problem.
In a factory, office complex, or high-density living area air purifiers/conditioners may be the most effective solution, although perhaps not the most environmentally friendly, unless they are powered by solar energy.
While a single indoor plant won’t make a difference, a significant grouping of indoor plants along with other strategies like good ventilation, behavioural changes (like not smoking) and finding alternatives to harmful chemicals for cleaning, disinfecting and pest control, go a long way to improving indoor air quality.
The pandemic has also taught us that a well-ventilated home, office or social space, with open doors and windows reduces the effectiveness of the virus.
The real villains are the hidden pollutants in our homes such as: acetone that is a solvent; found in household cleaners; benzene which is present in detergents and pesticides; and xylene that is present in paint, varnish and cleaning agents.
The article was published on the South African Business Insider site: www.insider.com/do-plantsclean-the-air).