Story:
6 Air Purifying House Plants!
1. Bamboo Palm: It removes formaldehyde and is also said to act as a natural humidifier.
2. Snake Plant: It absorb nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde.
3. Areca Palm: One of the best air purifying plants for general air cleanliness.
4. Spider Plant: Great indoor plant for removing carbon monoxide and other toxins or impurities. Spider plants are one of three plants NASA deems best at removing formaldehyde from the air.
5. Peace Lily: Peace lilies could be called the “clean-all.” They’re often placed in bathrooms or
laundry rooms because they’re known for removing mold spores. Also know to remove formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.
6. Gerbera Daisy: Not only do these gorgeous flowers remove benzene from the air, they’re known to improve sleep by absorbing carbon dioxide and giving off more oxygen over night.
Analysis:
Circulating messages claim to suggest 6 air purifying plants for home, that they naturally purify the air by removing harmful chemicals out of it. Yes, it is a fact.
Apart from absorbing the harmful carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen for our respiration, the above set of house plants also purify the air effectively. All the above claims are either approved by NASA studies and/or approved by a famous environmental scientist Dr. B.C. Wolverton.
1. Bamboo Palm or Reed Palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii) – As mentioned in the message, Bamboo Palm acts as a natural humidifier and removes the harmful chemicals formaldehyde, xylene and toluene from air.
2. Snake Plant or Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’) – A study conducted by NASA found that Snake Plant is one of the best plants for improving indoor air quality, as it passively absorbs toxins like nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde. Because of this quality, it is also known as ‘The Bedroom Plant‘. Note that it is known to be toxic to cats and dogs.
3. Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) – Areca Palm filters indoor air of xylene and toluene chemicals. Wolverton also specified that this plant is an effective humidifier, and is also known as ‘The Living Room Plant‘.
4. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) – Spider Plants also reduce indoor air pollution in the form of formaldehyde, xylene and toluene.
5. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’) – Like mentioned in the message, Peace Lily is a clean-all house plant, purifying air from benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene , toluene and also ammonia. Note that Peace Lily is also known to be toxic to cats and dogs.
6. Gerbera Daisy or Barberton Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) – The respiratory cycles of most plants decrease in the evening hours and they start absorbing oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide. But Gerbera Daisies continue releasing oxygen throughout the night, which helps you breath and sleep better. These colorful plants also remove benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene from air.
Therefore the claims are fact, the set of house plants mentioned above are good to grow in and around our home. As described in the TED video shown above, an extensive study conducted on how to grow fresh air, tested the effectiveness of such house plants in India and revealed that the three best home plants to get fresh and clean air are – Areca Palm, Snake Plant, i.e. Mother-in-law’s Tongue and Money Plant. Money plant, known as ‘The Specialist Plant‘ is also efficient in removing indoor pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene and toluene.
You can have a close look at the pictures of all these plants in the image section below – in the same order, the last one being money plant.
Hoax or Fact:
Fact.
References:
List of air-filtering plants
Areca Palm
Doze Off With Gerbera Daisies
Kamal Meattle: How to grow fresh air
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