How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants that purify Your Home or Office Dr. B.C. Wolverton, 1996 Penguin Books, USA Inc. by Peter Szilagyi Not only do houseplants look wonderful and have a soothing psychological effect upon us, but they also purify the air that we breathe. They absorb harmful man-made toxins during their respiration, photosynthesis cycle, and emit breathable, life sustaining oxygen. Key to this discovery were the studies, which NASA conducted, related to the possible problems that astronauts would have in the sealed environment of the Skylab missions. A study by NASA in 1980 indicated that houseplants removed harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals) in a sealed life support system. A follow-up study, resulted in a 1989 report which evaluated the ability of 12 common houseplants to remove formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene in sealed chambers. As with any new discovery, it produced a number vocal skeptics, who stated that these sealed- chamber studies could not be extrapolated into the real world. In order to address these aforementioned complaints and concerns, NASA developed and built a chamber known as the ‘Biohome’, which was also able to study whether these plants could possibly mitigate such earth problems as ‘sick building’ syndrome and indoor pollution ( in homes ). This study consisted of 15 different houseplants with a fan assisted air circulation system. What this new study revealed was extraordinary! A sampling of the air within the chamber indicated that after several days, the amount of VOCs was substantially reduced. Formaldehyde and VOCs are ‘off gassed’ (released into the atmosphere) by many man-made products found in residential, institutional, educational, and commercial buildings. They are found in paint, floor and wall coverings, commercial adhesives, carpet backing, plywood, particle board, paneling, plastic laminate, and cigarette smoke, etc. In 1990, a study cosponsored by the ‘Plants for Clean Air Council’, a non-profit organization and ‘Wolverton Environmental Services, Inc.’ expanded the earlier NASA study. Fifty houseplants were tested as to their ability to remove various toxic gases from sealed chambers. The results of that study are documented and illustrated in this book. The photographs of each of the 50 plants are excellent. Not only does the book rate an individual plant’s ability to remove various toxins, but it provides such additional and useful information as: its ‘ease of growth and maintenance’, its ‘resistance to insect infestation’, and its ‘transpiration rate’. Also indicated for every plant is its origin and its light requirements, the pests and problems it may have and tips about its care and finally the planting media that it prefers. This informative book is a must read for those, who are thinking about acquiring houseplant for the first time or adding to and varying their existing collections.

How to Grow Fresh Air:

50 Houseplants that purify Your Home or Office

Dr. B.C. Wolverton, 1996

Penguin Books, USA Inc.

by Peter Szilagyi

Not only do houseplants look wonderful and have a soothing psychological effect upon us, but they also purify the air that we breathe. They absorb harmful man-made toxins during their respiration, photosynthesis cycle, and emit breathable, life sustaining oxygen.

Key to this discovery were the studies, which NASA conducted, related to the possible problems that astronauts would have in the sealed environment of the Skylab missions.

A study by NASA in 1980 indicated that houseplants removed harmful VOCs (Volatile Organic Chemicals) in a sealed life support system.

A follow-up study, resulted in a 1989 report which evaluated the ability of 12 common houseplants to remove formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene in sealed chambers.

As with any new discovery, it produced a number vocal skeptics, who stated that these sealed- chamber studies could not be extrapolated into the real world. In order to address these aforementioned complaints and concerns, NASA developed and built a chamber known as the ‘Biohome’, which was also able to study whether these plants could possibly mitigate such earth problems as ‘sick building’ syndrome and indoor pollution ( in homes ).

This study consisted of 15 different houseplants with a fan assisted air circulation system. What this new study revealed was extraordinary!

A sampling of the air within the chamber indicated that after several days, the amount of VOCs was substantially reduced.

Formaldehyde and VOCs are ‘off gassed’ (released into the atmosphere) by many man-made products found in residential, institutional, educational, and commercial buildings. They are found in paint, floor and wall coverings, commercial adhesives, carpet backing, plywood, particle board, paneling, plastic laminate, and cigarette smoke, etc.

In 1990, a study cosponsored by the ‘Plants for Clean Air Council’, a non-profit organization and ‘Wolverton Environmental Services, Inc.’ expanded the earlier NASA study. Fifty houseplants were tested as to their ability to remove various toxic gases from sealed chambers. The results of that study are documented and illustrated in this book. The photographs of each of the 50 plants are excellent.

Not only does the book rate an individual plant’s ability to remove various toxins, but it provides such additional and useful information as: its ‘ease of growth and maintenance’, its ‘resistance to insect infestation’, and its ‘transpiration rate’.

Also indicated for every plant is its origin and its light requirements, the pests and problems it may have and tips about its care and finally the planting media that it prefers.

This informative book is a must read for those, who are thinking about acquiring houseplant for the first time or adding to and varying their existing collections.