You spend a lot of time in your home or business office and you can clean the air you breathe as you work just by adding a plant to your workspace! Plants are the quickest, most efficient filters of the most common air pollutants, such as formaldehyde, benzene, xylene and ammonia (source: longtime NASA researcher Dr. B.C. "Bill" Wolverton in his book How to Grow Fresh Air). It's all about photosynthesis and how plants produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. Through this process, plants absorb up to 87% of indoor air pollutants.
Wolverton's top 10 air-purifying plants are: Arrowhead Vine, Bamboo Palm, Boston Fern, Green Corn Plant, English Ivy, Weeping Fig, Golden Pothos, Peace Lily, Rubber Plant and the Spider Plant. Any plant will help clean the air in your office though, so bring one you already have into your office and position it on your desk, especially by your computer. NASA scientists recommend using one plant for every 100 square feet.
In addition to cleaning the air, a green plant in your office will add color and "life" to your work environment. Your office will look better and you will feel "lifted" by having something beautiful and alive in your surroundings to offset the electronics and equipment in your office. Be sure to choose a plant that's easy to care for so you can reap the benefits of cleaner air with mimimal effort.
Make today a Green Day!
Lisa Assetta
Your CL Green Office Specialist
Lisa Assetta, Office Assistance Plus
Green Office Makeovers, Office Organizing, Virtual Assistance
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2009.