GREEN Alternative to Air Purifiers

Who knew that an electric run air purifier is not as effective as a few everyday common houseplants to help improve our indoor air quality-and the electric version is not as GREEN?



The EPA states the air in your home or office is 5-100 times more polluted than air outside. What does that say about the products we use in our home and office?

What are the items that are creating toxic environments?

1) Traditional cleaning products

2) Paint, sealants, caulks, stains

3) Carpeting

4) Mold & Mildew

5) Wood products like countertops, cabinets, flooring

6) Dust

7) Tobacco smoke



As you can see some of these items are man-made and the others occur in nature naturally but all have a high VOC content(volatile organic compound). What can we do to improve the indoor air quality? The answer is so simple. Place live houseplants in your home. Well you need to care for them appropriately too. While researching ways to cleanse the air in space stations, NASA found certain houseplants cleanse the air of some of the VOCs such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene-all included in the EPA's list of potentially hazardous VOC's. In this study, NASA studied 19 different houseplants for 2 years including two flowering plants and the remainder being common everyday houseplants. The NASA study showed the recommendation of 15-18 houseplants for an average 1,800 square foot home could improve the indoor air quality. To read more about the study and learn the simple science go to: NASA.



Here is the list of plants with their common names included in the study:

• english ivy


• spider plant


• golden pothos


• peace lily


• Chinese evergreen


• bamboo or reed palm


• snake plant


• heartleaf philodendron


• selloum philodendron


• elephant ear philodendron


• red-edged dracaena


• corn stalk dracaena


• Janet Craig dracaena


• Warneck dracaena


• weeping fig

If you have pets, please check the list for potentially hazardous plants before using them in your home.

I encourage you to incorporate at least a few of the plants included in the study in an area you spend the most time whether it is your home or office or both. Greenery not only improves indoor air quality but it is a living being that will improve your mood(see http://www.plantsforoffices.com/ study).

References
NASA, Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement, September 1989, by Dr. B.C. Wolverton, Anne Johnson, Keith Bounds

http://www.plantsforoffices.com/a290279-office-plants-can-improve-employee-productivity-.cfm, Indoor Plants Improve Mood

HEALING POWER OF NATURE SHOWN ON GLASS

Skyline Design has deliberately brought together three inspirational artists to display their organic art onto glass for a new collection called Botanica. I had the pleasure of traveling with the very cool woman from Skyline that helped to compile this collection. The mission here is to aid interior designers and architects in designing spaces that motivate the healing process whether it be a scary hospital or a stressful corporate conference room. Please check out the artists below to see how their art inspires meditation, healing and stress relief in places that often create fear and stress.

The three featured artists:
Henry Domke was a physician for 25 years before he decided to focus solely on nature photography that inspires healing. Skyline Design purchased three of his nature photographs that can be manipulated in innumerable ways to create new designs. To view his creations, learn about the artist, see the land that he is preserving and feel his passion for nature visit his website at http://www.henrydomke.com/.

Zeva Oelbaum is a New York-based still-life photographer and executive producer for an award winning documentary film. For the Botanica collection she demonstrates the Victorian era's photographic cataloguing technique called cyanotype. It appears much like a blueprint of organic items. To see the three cyanotype images go to Skyline's website at http://www.skydesign.com/. To learn more about Zeva, her crisp still-life photos, or the documentary visit http://www.zevaphoto.com/.

Steven Meyers spent 30 years as a medical x-ray technologist and is a native resident of Washington state. He now uses radiographs to expose organic life forms such as flowers and leaves. The translation of his photographs onto glass can look like soft, flowing fabric. Please visit Steven's website to investigate an interesting and creative new art form at http://www.xray-art.com/.

Skyline Design has truly brought together an amazing tool for architects and designers through Botanica. They can now use glass as art to inspire calm, stress free areas .