Growing Fresh Air with 8 Powerful Plants

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Janelle Sorensen

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

What do you do when you become allergic to the air? When your lungs begin to shut down because the air is too contaminated? Kamal Meattle suffered from this fate and guess what his solution was? Grow new air. Based on years of NASA studies, other scientific research, and 15 years of his own testing, Meattle discovered that three common houseplants, used strategically throughout a home, could vastly improve the indoor air quality.

Here's the breakdown:

Areca Palm is "The Living Room Plant" - This plant is a daytime oxygen factory and Meattle recommends having 4 shoulder height plants per person.

Mother-in-Law's Tongue is "The Bedroom Plant" - This plant is an evening oxygen factory and Meattle recommends having 6-8 waist-high plants per person.

Money Plant is "The Specialist Plant" - This plant is the filter that removes formaldehyde and other volatile organic chemicals from the air.

If maintained appropriately, Meattle claims you could live inside a bottle with a cap on top and these three plants would generate all the fresh air you need.

Not looking to live in a bottle? These plants will certainly still improve your indoor air quality (even if you don't have quite so many). And, if you're not satisfied with just three options, other new research has identified five "super ornamentals" that demonstrated high effectiveness of contaminant removal.

These include the purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternataa), English ivy (Hedera Helix), variegated wax plant (Hoya cornosa), Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus) and the Purple heart plant (Tradescantia pallida).

Of the 28 plants tested, these five were effective at reducing levels of a number of common household VOCs, including benzene, toluene, octane, alpha-pinene and TCE. The work, funded by the University of Georgia's Agricultural Experiment Stations, was published in the August 2009 issue of HortScience.

Ready to grow your own fresh air? NASA studies recommend that you use one good-sized houseplant in a 6 to 8-inch diameter container for every 100 square feet of your home. Though, additional research is being done to identify exactly how many of each type of species is necessary for remediation (as in Meattle's work). You should also be sure to keep the foliage clean and dust free (so the leaves can do their job). And, keep the top of soil clean and free of debris, as in some cases, that's where the bulk of the filtering is taking place.

The healthier your plants, the more vigorously they'll grow, and the better they'll clean the air for you.

Do you have a green thumb or are concerned about clean air? Check out these great articles:

Posted by Emily Lynne Ion on 01/06/2010 at 11:18 AM

Hi Kelly,

The three common houseplants are highlighted in bold, while the other five “super ornamentals” are listed three paragraphs below that.

Enjoy!

Emily
Healthy Child Team

Posted by Phazey on 01/06/2010 at 09:05 AM

There’s a TED.com talk about this by Kamal Meattle himself:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air.html

Posted by Counter on 01/06/2010 at 08:41 AM

Where are the other 5 plants?? Title says “Growing Fresh Air with 8 Powerful Plants,” article lists 3 plants. 8 <> 3…

Posted by Flowerchild on 01/05/2010 at 10:46 AM

I have an entire houseful of plants. Eventhough I have always known this info, I must say I totally agree!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Sean on 01/05/2010 at 09:31 AM

Lissa,

The Money plant is “jade plant” or Crassula ovata. Lunaria annua is a different plant altogether. In any case, however, according to the ASPCA website, jade plant is toxic to cats and dogs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_plant

Posted by Solar Panels on 01/04/2010 at 09:46 PM

I remember seeing a presentation on this exact thing on TED. I don’t remember if he used the the same plants though.

Posted by Willow on 01/04/2010 at 11:47 AM

How many of these plants are poisonous to children or animals? I have both…..

Posted by Kelly Steeves on 01/04/2010 at 08:26 AM

what about the rest?....thought there 8 plants….only see 3 up top

Thanks
Kelly Steeves

Posted by Lissa on 01/04/2010 at 05:13 AM

For pet owners out there!

Arcea Palm- non toxic to cats.

Mother in Law Tongue - scientific name Sansevieria trifasciata is toxic to cats, signs are diahrea, vomiting, nausea

Money Plant - scientific name Lunaria annua I have been unable to find info on. Some people refer to Philodendrons as money plants, and these are toxic to cats and can cause kidney damage.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/plant-list-cats.html?print=t

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