Early this year when the pandemic forced global lockdowns, one positive – if temporary – upside was a reduction in outdoor air pollution. The pollution level across the globe dropped significantly. Now when the countries have started returning back to normalcy in terms of work with the unlock strategies in place, pollution have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
While we are concern and pay maximum attention to outdoor air pollution, we oversee a simple fact that most of our exposure to air pollution actually happens indoors. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its study revealed that the levels of indoor air pollutants can be two to five times higher than outdoors – and lockdowns worsened that even further.
Looking into the productivity of the employees working from home during the COVID 19 pandemid and obviously unavailability of the vaccine, many companies have asked its employees continue working from their comfort zone. Now when you don’t have to travel all the way to your office and continue working from home, it’s important that you breathe fresh and pollution free air.
Here in this article we bring you top five plants that can help you breathe pollution free air inside your home:-
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens):
Also known by Living Room Plant or Butterfly Palm, Areca Palm has unique feature of absorbing toxic gases like Pharmaldehyde, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from the air and gives clean oxygen.
To get some fresh and clean oxygen in the house place four plants of Areca Palm in the living room. On the maintenance part Areca Palms come from the tropics so they’re used to regular daily tropical showers and having their roots in constantly damp soil. With this in mind the ideal watering requirements would be to ensure the soil is moist for much of the time.
It needs to be kept in the sun once in three to four months, make sure that it should not be kept in excessive sunlight or excessive dark as both are just no no for this plant.
Snake plant ( Sansevieria trifasciata)
It’s other names are Mother in law’s tongue and Bedroom Plant. According to clean Air study conducted by NASA , snake plants are one of the few plants that have unique feature of converting carbon dioxide into oxygen at night, which makes them perfect to place in your bedroom.
Most other plants absorb oxygen at night, which is why they are not recommended to be kept in your sleeping space. To arrange clean air for a man, put 6 plants up to height of 3 feets in the living room.
Money Plant (Epipremnum Aureum):
There is a myth associated with this plant, if we keep it at home the flow money or source of income will increase. That’s not completely true, this plants have potential to toxins from the air and releases oxygen into the atmosphere, which keeps us healthy and reduces our expenses related to health issues. In other words keeping this plant at home one is definitely going to save money, probably this might be the reason behind the money making myth associated with the plant. In terms of maintenance, these plants look for least maintenance, water them on alternate days, and do not keep in completely dark area. At-least once a week put the plant in the sunlight.
Golden Pothos (Scindapsus Aures)
Fourth in our list is Golden Pothos , also known as devil’s ivy. It flourishes in a variety of conditions and can grow up to 8 feet long. It’s also considered one of the most effective indoor air purifiers for removing common toxins. This plant plays an important role in the elimination of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gas in the home.
This plant can grow in the light of the bulb and tubelight. It can survive in very humid environment also. If you put three plants (height of 3 feet) in the bedroom, it will purify the atmosphere of the whole bedroom.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
Finally in our list is Peace Lily, this beautiful evergreen plant is requires low maintenance, its easy to care, even for those that don’t have a green thumb. They require very little light or water to remain healthy, which is one of the main reasons why they’re one of the most popular plants to keep in your home.
Its worth noting that Peace lily should never be put in direct sun light, as the rays of sun may lead to leaf burn.
NASA’s analysis of indoor houseplants revealed that the Peace Lily was the most efficient at removing airborne Volatile Organic Compounds, including formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and benzene.
The only demerit of is that it is mildly toxic to both humans and pets. If you swallow any part of this plant, you may start to feel nauseous, experience difficulty when swallowing, or feel a burning sensation in your mouth or skin.
If you start to feel any of these symptoms as a result of ingesting Spathiphyllum then it would be wise to seek medical help immediately.
Now you have 5 plants to keep air pollution free at your home, so what are you waiting for ? Order is right now and breathe fresh.
Do share which plant did you buy to keep air fresh while you keep working from home , write us at climatesamurai@gmail.com