Green Offices and Green Homes: Three Plants that will Purify and Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

If you are anything like me, most of your days are spent indoors. During the day, I spend 7.5 hours in a 40 year-old building whose windows have been bolted shut. Most of the air I breathe has been recycled, filtered and moved around from office cubicle to office cubicle since before I was born. It's no wonder then that after a few short hours of computer work my eyes are red and itchy, my throat is scratchy and my sinuses get infected far more than they ever have. By the time I get home, it's much the same story; in winter time, windows stay shut most of the day to keep the cold out and in the summer, fumes from the street and nearby highway make their way indoors, covering my house in a think layer of muck daily. 

Fortunately, entrepreneur and activist Kamal Meattle came up with a wonderful formula, based on NASA research, to "Grow your own clean air," which he presented in his 2009 TED talk (see link below to see the full TED talk, it is short and sweet).  His idea was essentially to create sustainable working environments that would replace the need for expensive and energy intensive air purification systems with natural, energy efficient plants. Not only did his project save money, but it increased oxygen levels within the work environments, increased productivity and reduced maladies linked to poor air quality. 

You don't need to be a wealthy entrepreneur to have clean air, as we will see below, anyone can afford to bring these plants into their home and office to dramatically improve the quality of the air they breathe, a small gesture for both yourself and the environment.

Though it may have a biting common name, Mother-In-Law's Tongue is an ideal indoor air purifying and detoxifying plant. Indeed, it is one of the few indoor plants that actually oxygenates rooms during the night time, making it safe to keep in every room of the house, especially the bedroom. Mother in law's tongue, also commonly known as the Snake Plant, is an incredibly easy to grown plant of the succulent family, requiring very infrequent watering. This plant is ideal for beginners or brown thumbs as the only way you can kill this plant is if you drown it. 

Mother in Law tongues are also really affordable plants that have been known to grow up to 5 feet. As though that were not incentive enough, they are currently found in all of the most fashionable celebrity homes. The most trendy of the variations has a yellow or silvery green variegation on the outer part of the leaves, as seen in this picture. Aim for 5-6 of these, waist-high for optimal results.

The Pothos is a true whiz when it comes to removing toxins from the air. In fact, no other house plant studied has the potential to remove as many Volatile Organic Compounds (chemical impurities that float in the air) than can the Pothos. The Pothos' waxy leaves absorb the chemicals from the air and filter them down to its root system that neutralizes the chemicals, leaving your air fresh and carcinogen-free. It has been shown to be particularly effective in eliminating such as harmful toxins as Benzene from petrochemical products, Formaldehyde from treated woods and tobacco-related smoke.

While the pothos your mother or grandmother grew is just as effective at purifying the air, growers have developed stunning new forms with interesting variegations that give it a hip, updated feel. Plant it in an assortment of flowers to give it a lush cornucopia look, or give it a clever art-deco pot to really make it a trendy focal point to your home.

Aim for approximately one of these lush plants per room for optimal air filtration.

In case you have not yet made up your mind as to whether or not natural air purifiers are worth the investment, here's one last bit of information that you won't be able to ignore: Arecas, Mother in Law's Tongue and Pothos begin filtering the air from the very moment you bring them into your home. As though that weren't convincing enough, you will begin noticing a significant difference within days.

What could be more perfect? An ecological solution to an urban problem, that (unlike machinery) improves its capacity to work as time goes by, can multiply and reproduce, providing you with more more plant to keep within your home or to give to loved ones and friends. And they look great too!

One final note: though the recommended amounts listed below should keep your home oxygenated for a lifetime, use these plants in combination for maximum oxygenation and detoxification effect, as they each have their own purifying strengths.

With this knowledge in hand, I encourage you to bring these wonderful plants into your home and into your office. Should you feel bolder, you could present these ideas to your bosses and have  management consider changing their policies to include these plants in the office in sufficient numbers to  filter your office building's old, stale air, too!