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Houseplants and a Healthier You

Cabin Fever is setting in all over the place.  Freezing cold temperatures, repeated snow, ice and rain storms have kept us inside and working at sealing up the leaks in our homes to battle the consumption of fuel and/or money that this record setting heating season has given us. What does that have to do with houseplants? Houseplants are widely accepted as adding to the décor and good feeling in a room. In the late 1980’s NASA also discovered that certain houseplants were effective at cleaning indoor air.

Modern manufacturing processes result in the presence of benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene (as well as others, but these three are the primary ones) in the air in spaces where we live and work. All three of these chemicals are carcinogenic (cancer causing). The good news is that the “NASA Nineteen” plants are effective filters and capture these contaminants. You need a lot of plants to do this; they recommend at least one per 100 square feet of space to be “cleaned”. But as Energy Shift has said many times before, moving in the right direction, over time, is better than just sitting there doing nothing. So, start with one of the nineteen next to your bed, where you breathe in and out all night long. Add others to confined spaces such as bathrooms or other locations where you spend the most time, like near the computer. 

A variety of web sites will list the nineteen for you. One that we like because it provides photos and details is http://www.sustainablebabysteps.com/types-of-houseplants.html