Do plants really purify the air in your home? 

    We have always been convinced that keeping certain types of plants indoors could be a good, economic and natural solution to improve the air in the environments in which we live. However, it seems that this is not the case, at least according to the results of a research conducted in France.


    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    We have always been convinced that keeping certain types of plants could be a good, economical and natural solution for improve the air of the environments in which we live. However, it seems that this is not the case, at least according to the results of a research conducted in France.




    Even NASA had confirmed that plants can improve the air of houses and apartments but it seems that, at least some of these, are able to capture the gaseous compounds exclusively in the laboratory. The results, according to experts, are much less convincing in real life conditions. 

    For example, Damien Cuny, professor of Ecotoxicology at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Lille who participated in the Phytair research program, is sure of this. studied the feasibility of purifying the air in the house with the help of plants. In particular, the experiments focused on 3 species: the Potos (Scindapsus aureus), the Phalanx (Chlorophytum comosum) and the Dracaena marginata.

    Undoubtedly, as the French professor also declared: “many plants have the property of absorbing pollutants”. In the laboratory they actually manage to capture carbon monoxide, benzene and formaldehyde, with greater or lesser efficiency, revealing the preference of the various species for some pollutants.

    In the plant, these substances are captured by the stomata (small holes on the surface of the leaves) and by the cuticles. Microorganisms contained in the plant substrate also play an important role in the absorption of gaseous pollutants.

    Do plants really purify the air in your home? 

    But unfortunately, in homes the situation is different. To study the chemical and biological processes underlying the phenomenon by which plants are able to purify the air, scientists establish conditions that are often very far from reality: plants stored in low volume spaces, high concentration of the pollutant studied in the air, no ventilation and more.

    "In the real world, the results are completely different," said Damien Cuny. Thus, in a normally ventilated room, “the performances do not allow a significant elimination of pollutants”. Plants considered anti smog, therefore, would not be able to clean at all the air in our living room or in our rooms where pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, tobacco smoke, allergens and more often circulate.



    Also following the results of Phytair, the French Ademe (Agency for the environment and energy management) argues that the use of plants is not among the scientifically validated systems for limiting pollution levels in homes. Instead, he recommends:

    • Open the windows of the house every day for 5-10 minutes
    • Check that the air vents and ventilation filters are not blocked
    • Avoid smoking indoors
    • Avoid continuous heating, especially in bedrooms or rooms with poor ventilation
    • Purchase and use "clean" products as much as possible, ie products that emit a minimum of VOC volatile organic compounds: detergents, deodorants, paints, etc.

    Was all the other research really wrong and didn't take into account the different conditions between the laboratory and real houses?

    It may also be true that it is not decisive to use plants in our apartments to limit the pollution of the environments in which we live, but in any case it is an attempt that does not cost much and there is always the advantage of embellishing the spaces with a little green (which never hurts).


    Read also:

    • Keeping a plant indoors improves the quality of the air (and our skin), the new confirmation
    • How this common houseplant could purify your entire home
    • Plants that purify the air in the home: these are the best according to a new study
    • Domestic pollution: 15 indoor plants that purify the air in the house


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