Carbon Monixide & Flowers
- Bamboo trees are a low-light plants that can help clean the air in your home.bamboo image by CreativeWarrior from Fotolia.com
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. You cannot see it, taste it or smell the bad fumes. Those factors make it easy for you or your family to become fatal victims to CO poisoning. Even at lower levels of exposure, there are mild effects that can be mistaken for the flu that include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue. The effects of CO exposure depend on age, general health status, length of exposure and the concentration level of CO. - A poorly adjusted stove can produce a CO level of up to 30 parts per million.detail of classical cooking stove image by Tomo Jesenicnik from Fotolia.com
There are several things you can do in the home to reduce exposure to carbon monoxide, according to the EPA. Properly adjust gas stoves and have vented fans over them that lead outside. When using kerosene heaters, make sure to use the proper fuel. Open the flue whenever you use the fireplace. And never idle your car inside the garage. The Consumer Product Safety Commission also suggests installing a CO monitor that will alert you when your home has a sustained high level of CO. - NASA found that a simple spider plant can clean up air pollution inside your house.spider in a basket image by Joann Cooper from Fotolia.com
Dr. Bill Wolverton was one author of a 1985 NASA study that showed a spider plant could clean almost 90 percent of carbon monoxide from a sealed indoor environment. This was very important in the Skylab space station that had high levels of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide. Wolverton went on to write more about indoor pollution, including the 1997 book "How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office." - Know your plants and keep them properly watered.mum backround image by Denise Kappa from Fotolia.com
Wolverton has done more studies over the years, including one with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), that has identified plants to improve indoor air quality. Not only is the spider plant on the list, but so are flowering plants such as chrysanthemums, gerbera daisies and peace lilies. These plants can reduce amounts of benzene and formaldehyde, which are chemicals in number of indoor products and causal factors in "sick building syndrome." - They don't just add beauty to your home. Plants also clean the air.House Plant image by Arne Bramsen from Fotolia.com
Studies since the 1980s have shown that common houseplants and some flowering plants can help the air quality in modern airtight structures. Bamboo, English ivy and wandering Jew plants are just a few that can soak up those bad chemicals and release oxygen, making your work and home environments that much healthier.
