I work in a small home office with a napping cat and a large potted plant for company. I'm always grateful for my cat's quiet camaraderie, but I never give my plant a second thought, other than to begrudgingly water it when it looks droopy (as it does now). But after reading a new study on houseplants and air quality, I'm ready to boost its water rations and dole out some long-overdue fertilizer.
Scientists have long-known that plants improve outdoor air quality by removing pollutants (a process known as phytoremediation), but their effect on indoor air hasn't been as widely studied. However, this is a topic of some interest, as more of us are spending most of our time inside, where the air quality can be poor thanks to pollutants arising from paints, furnishings, cleaning supplies, and other indoor sources. In fact, studies show that indoor air can be up to 12 times more polluted than outdoor air in some areas. And this can increase the risk of asthma, cancer, and other serious health problems.
For the study, researchers rounded up 28 popular houseplants and put them in gas-tight jars. They then infused the air around the plants with the following common pollutants:
• Benzene and toluene, which can emanate from petroleum-based coatings, cleaning solutions, plastics, tobacco smoke, and exhaust fumes
• Octane, from paint, adhesives, and building materials
• Trichloroethylene (TCA), from cleaning agents, insecticides, plastics, and tap water (yes, tap water)
• Alpha-pinene, from synthetic paints and fragrances.
The researcher then tested the air quality in the jars after three hours and six hours. All the plants improved the air quality by at least a little, but the performance of some was exceptionally good. Overall, the top plants for reducing all five pollutants were:
• Purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternata)
• English ivy (Hedera helix)
• Variegated wax plant (Hoya carnosa)
• Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus).
Some plants were specialists, of sorts, excelling at removing one or two types of pollutants. For example, the ever-popular weeping fig (Ficus Benjamina) was better than many of its peers against octane and alpha-pinene. Knowing each plant's pollutant-fighting talents could allow indoor greenery to be tailored to match an environment's particular air-quality issues, say the researchers. But, for most of us, having a diverse mix of plants is probably the best approach.
What you need to know. Admittedly, reducing pollutants in an enclosed jar isn't the same as doing so in an entire room or building, and the researchers can't say how many plants might be required to produce similar effects outside of the laboratory. Even so, this doesn't diminish the study's basic findings—that common houseplants can appreciably improve our air, while they beautify our surroundings.
—Sophie Ramsey, patient editor, BMJ Group
ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use.
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