NEED PROOF THAT INDOOR PLANTS REDUCE INDOOR POLLUTION

We want scientific research and proof that 

(1) indoor plants reduce indoor pollution, and if so, 

(2) please QUANTIFY how much a plant does in fact reduce indoor
pollution.

 

BACKGROUND: The EPA has stated that indoor pollution is their number
one health concern. And we all know that using “green” cleaning
products and the use of an “ionizer” will reduce indoor pollution  … 
but will a small house plant (in a one foot diameter pot and standing
two foot tall) also make a difference (how much of a difference)?

EXAMPLE of what we want: how many and what kinds of plants would
detoxify the indoor pollution of a 9 x 12 square foot room (and by
what percent reduction)?

INCLUDE your search strategy and clearly identify the location of
source material so we can document any claims we make about plants
reducing indoor pollution. Happy hunting!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 02 Jul 2003 16:21 PDT

Hello Deepforest-ga,

Interesting topic, but I wasn't sure of the level of detail you might
be expecting for an answer...there isn't a heck of a lot of research
on this topic, as far as I know.

What has been researched is summarized here:

http://www.wolvertonenvironmental.com/airFAQ.htm

and suggests that a few large Boston ferns in each room might be your
best bet.

Let me know if this is an appropriate level of detail, or if you
require more detail.

Greetings Deepforest,
Based on the results of my searches, the study that pioneers this sort
of information is by NASA. I will list that as the first website among
my sources here. The study though focuses more on the pollutants
formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and benzene, I realize now that these
are pollutants as common as carbon monoxide (car exhaust gas). The
rest of the websites I list mostly quote the NASA study.

While I couldn’t find statistics for pollution removal for a certain
size of room (though there are statistics in the second link below), I
think two plants can serve well for the size you mentioned. Just study
the care information for the plants you choose carefully.

A plant or some plants in the room alone will not remove all the
pollution, but it could help make the air in the room more breathable
and sweeter to the nose.

Sources:
NASA Study - Plants Clean the Air!!!
http://www.zone10.com/wsdocs/tech/NASA/fyh.htm

Plants can help reduce indoor air pollution
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mecfs/general/plants.html
- Some percentages of chemical removal are given here.

Virginia Cooperative Extension - Plants Actually Clean the Air!
http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/articles/misc/plntclar.html
- Contains bibliography

Indoor Plants reduce indoor air pollution (Indonesian website article)
http://www.pii.or.id/artikel/10_plant.html

Environmental Illness Society of Canada - Plants Help Reverse Indoor
Air Pollution and Allergies
http://www.eisc.ca/plants.htm

Columbus Board of Realtors - Plants Help Reverse Indoor Air Pollution
& Allergies
http://www.columbusrealtors.org/6280.cfm

Econotes from Claremont McKenna College
http://www.mckenna.edu/news/econotes/pdf/EcoNotesFeb2003.pdf

Plants Help Reverse Indoor Air Pollution and Allergies
http://www.ourlittleplace.com/article11.html

Plants Help Reverse Indoor Air Pollution and Allergies
http://www.drgloriagilbere.com/article11.html


Care for certain mentioned plants:
Bamboo Palm, Chamaedorea care
http://www.tropicalplant.com/PlantCareTips/tips.asp?AID=071401

Car of Ivy (applies to English Ivy) 
http://www.ivy.org/care.html

Chinese Evergreen Houseplant Care
http://www.evergrowing.com/tips/chineseevergreen.htm

Guide to Growing Aloe Plants
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/aloe~vera.html

House Plant Care and Cultivation Guides
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/houseplants.html


Google search strings used: 
indoor plants reduce air pollution
indoor plants air pollution
(name of plant) care

I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you have any problem
with it, do please post a Request for Clarification and I shall
respond. Thank you.

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Request for Answer Clarification by deepforest-ga on 03 Jul 2003 15:17 PDT

Dear Techtor:

I do appreciate the links you have given me ... and I gotta say that
this does not constitute answering the question. I have asked for VERY
specific information (ie, how many and what kinds of plants would
detoxify the indoor pollution of a 9 x 12 square foot room (and by
what percent reduction). Are you willing to dig a litttle deeper, if I
am willing to raise the fee to $25. But for this fee, you need to
answer the specifics of my question, not just a general literature
review. Are we on?

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 03 Jul 2003 22:44 PDT

Deepforest,
I understand. However, since I have posted the answer I doubt you
could change the price... being a researcher here, I have not tried
asking a question myself so I wouldn't know, but I assume once the
answer is posted, the price is pegged. You may ask the Google Answers
administrators (see email address below). Anyway, I will look around
if there are room size specifics for the plants. If I am unable to
find anything, what would you prefer to be done, would you let my
answer stay without any price increase, or would you accept a
withdrawal of the answer and return to unanswered status?

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 03 Jul 2003 22:52 PDT

By the way, I forgot to mention, in case the question price is
unchangeable now, you could use the "tip" feature (available when you
rate the researcher, I believe) if you want to add something to your
payment. I've just done a search and found something that may answer
the room size specifics. In case you accept this proposal, please let
me post the additional answer before you rate. Thank you.

---

Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 04 Jul 2003 12:01 PDT

Hello Deepforest,
I decided to post this since this was what you needed. I apologize for
not having found this earlier, since I thought the previous answer I
gave would suffice. Your room, 9 feet by 12 feet, would be 108 square
feet in area. Here are the articles I’ve seen that would relate to it:

Shelter - Indoor plants can help indoor breathing - NCTimes.net
http://www.nctimes.net/news/2001/20010323/f.html
- One to three plants could help clean a 100-cubic foot room. I
suppose this can do for square feet as well.

Home Green Home: Creating a Natural Living Space
http://herbalmusings.com/home_green_home.htm
- 15-20 plants could detoxify 2000 square feet. So I guess two to
three, maybe four plants per 100 square feet of space would do.

The Pollution Solution: Common Houseplants
http://www.datasync.com/~mullein/indoor.htm
- 15 to 20 plants for 1,800 square feet.

Plants Absorb Indoor Pollution
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1956/pollution.html
- One Boston Fern can remove almost all formaldehyde in the air in an
800 cubic foot room (10 by 10 by 8 feet) in an hour.

Google Search term used:
plants detoxify size room
plants remove pollution size room

I hope this answers your clarification request. You may ask again if
there is still anything unclear to you. Never mind my advice about the
tip, it’s really up to you. I just want to make sure that I’ve
answered in full. Thank you.

As you dug deeper into the specifics I requested, you hit the jackpot.
Well done! I am including a $10 tip for you. Thanks!

Many thanks for the high rating and the tip! I am glad to have served
you properly. :)

What is Google's policy about me contacting you directly for some
contract research work? Is it possible and how?

I'm sorry to say any contact with customers out of Google Answers is
prohibited. Any transaction between us must happen here. If you have
any other question about the policies or anything, do consult the
Answers-Editors, their email is shown below.

Aside from me, we have many other very capable and skilled researchers
here. Do try them out. ;)

Ok, I understand about NO contract work outside of Google ... but is
it posible to REQUEST you "WITHIN" Google for a specific research
question?