Will a house (or room) full of plants really keep the air clean?

[limcid]

I have post nasal drip from allergies and I have an Oreck air cleaner that works great, but I'm wondering if plants could do the same thing. Also, if the level of oxygen is high enough it might provide some additional health benefits like increased energy.

Is this realistic or would it take a ton of plants to really benefit?

 

[ChanellG]

Plants don't protect you from allergies. In fact, if you have them in the bedroom they can potentially make your allergies worse. The best way to combat allergies is to keep your diet and your environment free of the things that you are allergic to. It is also important to understand the difference between allergens and irritants.

 

[maddie]

Plants don't protect you from allergies. In fact, if you have them in the bedroom they can potentially make your allergies worse. The best way to combat allergies is to keep your diet and your environment free of the things that you are allergic to. It is also important to understand the difference between allergens and irritants.

Not all plants cause allergies.. it is the pollen in the plants that cause allergies. I do agree that some leaves cause irritation and discomfort.
@ limcid, There are many plants that effectively clean your air and purify it. I think Taskeinc
has made a great list of those plants in a thread here. Look it up.

 

[LindaKay]

Plants can definitely make the air much cleaner in your home, especially if you use the right types of plants. However, it is very important to make sure that you aren't allergic to any of the plants that you bring into your home, and you should look for plants that don't put off as much pollen.

 

[limcid]

Thanks for the responses!

I don't have any plant related allergies. Pollen doesn't bother me at all. I'm more concerned about having cleaner air indoors. I believe my allergies come from the dust in the air. I'm sure the plants won't filter the dust, but maybe the boost in oxygen would help out?

I'm wondering about how many plants it would take to have a noticeable difference in the air quality. I wonder if there's a formula (or software tool) to help figure this out?

I'll look up Taskeinc's post, thanks.

 

[ChanellG]

Thanks for the responses!

I don't have any plant related allergies. Pollen doesn't bother me at all. I'm more concerned about having cleaner air indoors. I believe my allergies come from the dust in the air...

You need to get an allergy patch test so you know exactly what your allergies are, and you definitely do not want to have houseplants in your bedroom. Loading up your house with plants is not necessarily going to improve your air quality. Having more oxygen in your home is not going to have an impact on your allergies. Looking up that post is not going to be a substitute for a doctor's visit. Once you know what you are allergic, you can clean your environment, which is the only thing other than medication that will improve your ability to breath without issues indoors.

 

[limcid]

Hmm, I didn't know that allergy patches even existed! I'll have to look into it, thanks.

 

[ChanellG]

It's not a skin patch that you wear. It's a medical test that pricks the skin (two different tests, actually) and where the skin reacts inside the "patch" lets the doctor know what you are allergic to. You need to also understand that post nasal drip is caused by certain dietary habits as well as by allergens in your environment. You really need to get a workup done so you know for sure what you're dealing with and what you can do.

 

[LindaKay]

Yes, I've heard that those tests aren't very pleasant, but they can be very helpful in letting you know what you are and aren't allergic to.

 

[limcid]

Oh, you're talking about THAT test?! LOL, sorry but no thanks.

I'm aware of the back torture test. My sister went through that when she was young. They did like a few dozen tests on her back with a little screw-type of thing (as it was explained to me). Umm, that's MR. WUSS, thank you very much.

My allergies aren't bad at all. I don't go around sneezing or having rashes or anything. I just get a mild case of the sniffles and post-nasal drip. Interestingly, it all went away when I did a juice fast for about two weeks. I'm trying to save up to be able to do that again. Good, real food costs so much more than junk.

 

[CoCo]

I often wonder the same thing. I have a puppy and a toddler, so I've slowly lost all my indoor plants. They've knocked them over or torn the leaves or pulled them out by the roots and dragged them all over the yard But, I did read there are certain indoor plants that are great for improving air quality. Off the top of my head I can't remember them all, but I know Spider plants and Bamboo plants were a couple of them. Also the Peace Lily. Those are nice enough and easy to care for.

Good luck!

 

[cmdr-apollo]

Oh, you're talking about THAT test?! LOL, sorry but no thanks.

I'm aware of the back torture test. My sister went through that when she was young. They did like a few dozen tests on her back with a little screw-type of thing (as it was explained to me). Umm, that's MR. WUSS, thank you very much.

My allergies aren't bad at all. I don't go around sneezing or having rashes or anything. I just get a mild case of the sniffles and post-nasal drip. Interestingly, it all went away when I did a juice fast for about two weeks. I'm trying to save up to be able to do that again. Good, real food costs so much more than junk.

Those tests aren't that bad, nowadays. They're really hardly more than small scratches. More irritating than painful! But, there's really no need for it if your allergies are that mild!

Anyway, there are certain plants that are said to help clean the air - or rather, "improve air quality". They've been studied often by NASA and horticultural societies. They basically just filter out some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are gases that, as far as I know, are mostly emitted from products like cleaners, aerosols, paints and paint thinners, pesticides, adhesives, building materials, chemical treatments for leather and other products - that sort of thing.
So really, they're not useful for battling allergies - only keeping your air more "fresh". To decrease airborne allergens, I use an air purifier by Honeywell and another (in another room) by Ionic Pro.

 

[limcid]

Yeah, I love my Oreck air filter machine. It really does make a huge difference.

So, a house full of plants won't give me an oxygen-rich environment, oh well. I think I will still get more plants in the house, I think the greenery will be therapeutic.

 

[dziomek]

There are a few plants that are good for air purification. The most common one is the Spider Plant (I can't recall the others off the top of my head). Spider plants are so easy to grow, and are hard to kill. I recently cut at least 10 plantlets off of my big spider plant (and some of the plantlets have babies of their own).

 

[cmdr-apollo]

There are a few plants that are good for air purification. The most common one is the Spider Plant (I can't recall the others off the top of my head). Spider plants are so easy to grow, and are hard to kill. I recently cut at least 10 plantlets off of my big spider plant (and some of the plantlets have babies of their own).

Completely true! My spider plant was the first indoor plant that I *didn't* kill, even after neglecting it for a while... It kick-started my gardening habit and even the woman at the nursery recommended it as an air "purifier".