A Breath Of Fresh Air

Happy New Year !
Welcome back to a new year and a new blog for 2013. As we deal with the winter grey skies and weather changes, time spent inside is at it's premium right now. While the flu season is now in full swing, it is important to create the best indoor living environment as possible for good health, and peace of mind. House plants help provide a healthy environment by cleaning the indoor air of potential harmful pollutants. Pollutants such as Formaldehyde,Benzene,Trichloroethylene, and other toxics set the stage for headaches,low work production,employee sick days, and just an over all feeling of depression within the work place and in our homes. There are a number of indoor plants that have been proven to help reduce the before mentioned harmful pollutants and this short list of some of the best will hopefully provide you with a foundation to work from.
English Ivy, Peace Lilly,Bamboo Palm, and Mother-in-law tongue were found to be the best when dealing with air contaminated with Benzene.
Mother-in-law's tongue,Dracaena wameckei, peace Lilly, and Spider Plant worked well for filtering Formaldehyde. Sansevieria trifasciata ( snake plant ) is great for the pollutant benzene and other great "Scrubber" type indoor plants are Aglaonema,Ficus benjamina, and Epipiremnum aureum ( Golden pothos ).
For an average home of under 2000 Sq. Ft. a NASA study recommends using fifteen samples of any of the above listed plant materials and they also recommend that the plants be grown in 6" containers or larger.
By incorporating living, breathing, indoor plants to your home or business you will benefit from the fresh clean air these plants product and they will also add character and good vibes to the environments with their presence.
* Information was shared from study done by NASA and ALCA ( Associated Landscape Contractors of America ) and from tips from "Clean Air Gardening"