Do you feel well-informed, anon?

Shit like this terrifies me... invisible, slow-working, long-term damage:

Clean air is important for health, yet many homes are rife with pollutants. Household products such as cleaning solvents, waxes, paints and varnishes often contain volatile organic compounds like benzene and toluene, which can cause skin irritation, eye damage, neurological disorders and cancer. Furnishings and carpets, for their part, can slowly release formaldehyde, another carcinogenic molecule.

Air purifiers can help, but houseplants have in recent years been marketed as a more aesthetic alternative. Amazon, an e-commerce giant, sells plants described as being for “air purification” alongside more traditional categories such as “low-maintenance” and “pet-friendly”. But how good a job can plants actually do?

Plants GOOD...

Scientists have long known that plants can change the composition of the air around them as they breathe, turning carbon dioxide into oxygen in the process.

Whereas many plants, like pines and yews, have hairy, waxy or rough leaves that readily accumulate pollutants on their surfaces (and are often planted next to busy roads for precisely this reason), some species draw these molecules into their tissues through holes in their leaves known as stomata. Of those that draw in pollutants, some produce enzymes capable of breaking apart molecules such as benzene and formaldehyde. Research published in the EU Journal of Internal Medicine in 2017 further revealed that some plants send small amounts of the intact pollutants to their roots, where microbes in the soil devour them as food.

...BUT the kind of plants we tend to have at home (broadleaf, evergreen species, tropical/subtropical ones) aren't that

Experiments run with plants in ordinary rooms have yet to show any meaningful benefits. [...] Air flow systems that attempt to purify air by blowing it over dense layers of vertically grown vegetation (known as living walls) have shown more promise in real-world settings. Even so, the improvements to air quality are small (one study showed that 60 square centimetres of plants could reduce an office’s carbon-dioxide concentration by just under 2%) and living walls, though attractive, are not easy to maintain.

"It is a safer bet to appreciate your plants for the many other benefits they bring—and stick to an electric air purifier instead""It is a safer bet to appreciate your plants for the many other benefits they bring—and stick to an electric air purifier instead"

I guess I'll make a living wall, then??

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