Family health & Air filters - Natural options?

I recently relocated to the Central Valley of California - it's been a lot of adjusting from the life of a coastal city with clean, moist air to a desert climate with dry, polluted air.  Because I have two small children (and a husband with severe allergies) I've been looking into ways to filter the air in our home to limit any potential allergy and respiratory issues.

One thing that we parents should keep in mind when considering our family's/children's respiratory health is the fact that indoor air is often up to 5 times more toxic than outdoor air - so if you live in an area with poor air quality, your indoor environment is probably not the safe haven you were hoping for.

What's in your air?

There's a lot of things you may not even know to worry about when it comes to indoor air quality - your family is breathing in A LOT of nasty stuff on a daily basis - Where you live, and even what you do for a living, can bring extra (or eliminate some) toxins.  Here's an idea of what you and your children are breathing:

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
• Artificial Fragrances
• Dust
• Toxic vapors
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Off-gas emissions from furniture, carpets, and paints
• Dust mites
• Microbial contaminants, fungi, molds, and bacteria
• Ozone

How can you filter your air?

So now that we know our indoor air is likely more toxic than the outdoor air and that our indoor air is filled with gross stuff, what can we do?

The easiest and most obvious solution is to buy some form of air filtration device(s) - the problem with these is often the cost.  A system that will filter your entire home can cost thousands of dollars, depending on how "fancy" you want to go.  If that's too much, you can get free-standing air filters.  Generally, for a medium to large room, you're looking at an investment of over $100 for one of these - and you'll need one for every room.  When you consider all of the rooms in your home, you're looking at a pretty high price tag here as well.

However, the cost is often worth it if you're able to manage it - in addition to filtering toxins out of the air, these filters with assist with dust and large particles present in the air of your home.

Natural Alternatives

Please, DON'T stop with air filters - you have more options! ...and these may surprise you!

In the late 1980's, NASA published their Clean Air Study, which included a list of plants - yes, I said plants - that naturally filter and clean air.  These plants, depending on which you purchase, can filter many VOC's out of your indoor air - including benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and trichloroethene.

What's even better is that these plants can been extremely cost effective - and, as someone who lacks a "green thumb," I was glad to see that a few are also extremely hardy plants that can survive with little care.

In each room of your house, have several house plants stationed to assist in filtering your air - if you have a large home, you'll need to pick up a few extra for the added space they are filtering, but in general, 2-3 plants per room is a good rule of thumb.  Some of these plants can cost less than $10 each, so this is a massive savings over air filtering devices.

One thing that should be noted: These plants do not filter dust and large particles - that's what air filtration systems and devices are for.  I've opted to combine plant based filtering AND air filters in my home to clean as much as possible.

What plants should you buy?  

The variety is impressive - succulents, ferns and palms, flowers, etc.  Depending on your skill at keeping house plants alive (my success rate is pretty low, unfortunately), here's a list of recommendations - you can see the complete list from NASA's Clean Air Study here.

Beginners - No Green Thumb Required
Snake Plant & English Ivy are two hardy and easy to care for plants that will assist in filtering air.  Snake Plant is my strongest recommendation, as it filters benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene, and trichloroethene all by itself - it's a superstar air filter.  English Ivy is a champ at filtering formaldehyde, which is likely the biggest toxin present in most homes.  Both of these plants require minimal light and don't need to be watered often.

Intermediate - Need a little TLC
The Peace Lily and Lady Palm are two highly effective air filters, but each requires a bit of work to maintain.  Peace Lily's excel at absorbing acetone and benzene - but they are toxic to animals, so they would need to be under close observation if you have pets.  Lady Palms are wonderful to have because they suck up ammonia, which can damage the respiratory system - but, they take a long time to grow, so you need to be patient with this one.

 

Advanced - Green Thumbs Only

Where most air filtering plants are ferns or vines, the Chrysanthemum and Moth Orchid have beautiful blooms that make them among the most beautiful house plants you could add to your collection.  Chrysanthemum's are also one of the most efficient air filters - they tackle benzene, formaldehyde, ammonia, toluene, xylene, and trichloroethene.  Moth Orchid's are also effective at absorbing toluene and xylene - both common in homes.  However, because of the floral nature of these plants, they do require a lot of sun and more consistent watering that most.  You'll need to tend to these plants frequently to keep them thriving.