![Do Pothos Plants Clean The Air? [ Find Out In This Article ]](https://www.floradelaterre.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image-of-pothos-plant.jpg)
Houseplants boost the scenic beauty of your room. Many gardeners consider indoor gardening as a fancy hobby. But, a few years back, according to a survey report by NASA shattered this common belief.
They showed the world how houseplants purify the air and uplift the mood of the gardener simultaneously. Gladly this list includes one of those plants named pothos.
Epipremnum aureum or devil’s ivy is an ornamental yet sturdy houseplant. Many lazy indoor gardeners or expert horticulturists prefer this plant for its minimalist demands.
You can expect drought and low-light tolerance from fully grown pothos. Irrespective of being a tropical vine, pothos can thrive at any temperature and even with the least humidity.
Besides enhancing the artistic value of your room, pothos has many science-backed benefits too. Many research and studies have also proved the health benefits of pothos.
Every variety of pothos has the potential to purify the air. Some recent studies have shown pothos eradicate an enormous amount of formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and benzene from the ambient air.
If your room has a persistent foul odor, you can think of planting a pothos there. It is already proven that pothos can successfully diminish the smell.
Most of us have a longer screen-time than advised. So, after a long day of work, staring at the vine or spending some time with it will soothe your eyes.
Do pothos plants clean the air?
Recent studies show the pothos plant can filter encompassing air from volatile organic compounds and toxins. Some reputed institutes have ranked devil’s ivy as the number one air-purifying house plant since it can eradicate carbon monoxide, benzene, and toluene from the ambient air.
If you live in an industrial area or beside a heavily trafficked road, the air in your room has a dangerous amount of pollutants. You are continuously inhaling those unknowingly.
These life-threatening toxins can harm your health, which can even lead to your death. But your leafy friend pothos can rescue you. So, in this segment, we have shared how pothos helps you to get fresh air indoors.
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Smoking is dangerous for the earth
Benzene is one of the most hazardous air pollutant components in the world. Since tobacco smoke releases benzene every year, numerous people get affected by it.
Indoors smoking increases the level of benzene in the surrounding air. The other sources of benzene emissions are gas stations, commercial excretion, and automobile discharge. If you live in a city, you have to deal with these every day.
So having a pothos plant in your room is not a bad idea since the vine can efface benzene, a cancerous agent. Yes, it is a proven fact that benzene injures the cells in the bone marrow and causes leukemia.
And no matter where you live, your room’s air can contain benzene in the form of paints, detergent, furniture wax, and even glue. The long-term impact of benzene can even cripple your immune system.
Pothos eradicates another cancerous agent, formaldehyde
Having a plant in your room is a wise decision since it also purifies formaldehyde in the air. Some home appliances like wooden furniture, carpet, gas stove, kerosene release formaldehyde at an immense level. Even the smoke from wood-burning can contain an enormous amount of formaldehyde.
Medical professionals have identified formaldehyde as a carcinogen. Long-term inhalation of this toxin can cause cancer or leukemia. Pothos clean the indoor air by absorbing it, which is present in the ambiance.
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Your room’s air contains more carbon monoxide than you thought
Indoors air gets easily polluted since it does not frequently get circulated. The level of carbon monoxide in your room is pretty high as most of the electrical appliances release them. If you have any kid, aged or sick person in the house, long-term exposure to carbon monoxide is harmful to them.
Vomiting, headache, nausea, and dizziness are some common symptoms of carbon monoxide inhalation. Studies have shown that pothos consumes carbon monoxide and shift it down to their radicals. You probably never thought planting pothos would be that helpful, right?
Devil’s ivy even absorbs xylene and toluene.
These two harmful VOCs are always present in the air of your room. Many households or indoor appliances like nail paint, gasoline, varnishes emancipate both xylene and toluene.
If you get constantly exposed to these substances, you will experience dizziness, headache, and vomiting. However, pothos has microorganisms present in the root or the soil, which breaks down these VOCs. So that microbes can turn these into the food of the plant.
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How much does pothos clean the air?
Although it is proven that pothos can purify the air, genetically modified pothos does it more efficiently. Being a robust houseplant, it cleans the air in different ways. Some of these are as follows.
Photosynthesis
Like all plants, pothos also absorbs carbon dioxide and other harmful agents present in the air through the photosynthesis process and releases oxygen.
Consume
The gigantic leaves of pothos imbibe all the VOCs present in the atmosphere through the stomata. Then shift it to the roots where millions of microorganisms survive. They break down the VOC particles so that microbes make them the food for the plant.
Transpiration
Pothos dispense humidity through the process of transpiration. As roots let out water vapor into the air, the polluted indoor air goes down to the roots. Thus your room gets rid of all the air pollutants.
However, genetically modified fluorescent pothos has recently come into the market. Researchers have proven that it is more efficient to purify the air than any general pothos. These golden pothoses can break down more VOCs than normal pothos.
According to the study report, pothos cannot remove all toxins present in the environment. The capability of pothos to absorb the toxins decreases with higher-molecular-weight particles. Research has also shown that pothos can break down only 10% of benzene in seven days.
But, genetically modified golden pothos can do the same work nine times more efficiently. Therefore, expert gardeners always recommend them since it is neglect-tolerant and cleans the air concurrently.
Still, they advise beginners to place a fan in the room since your indoor air cannot circulate on its own, alone pothos will not do that with no aid.
Related:
Other plants that clean air
The air in your room has millions of toxins and pollutants that you cannot see with your bare eyes. Apart from pothos, many other plants sterilize the atmosphere so that we can breathe fresh air.
Though their potency of absorbing toxins varies, all of them can improve the air quality more or less. Here we will briefly talk about some of these plants, which are effective in cleaning the environment.
Peace Lily
Peace Lily or Spathiphyllum is another minimalist plant that is ideal for any beginner or lazy indoor gardener. Once in a week, watering is enough to keep peace lilies happy.
Since springtime is their growing season, fertilization makes them thrive quickly. Peace lily purifies the air by removing benzene, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. This plant also has the efficacy to eliminate trichloroethylene and xylene.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Spider Plant or Chlorophytum comosum is another robust plant that can live even at two degrees temperature. Additionally, the indoor air of your house will be free from formaldehyde and xylene with the aid of this plant.
Chrysanthemums
If you are more of a floral person, you can go for Chrysanthemums or Chrysanthemum morifolium. The bright and vibrant blossoms will multiply your adobe charm and also help to uplift your mood.
When it comes to air purifiers, Chrysanthemums have the highest potential to remove toxins from the environment. It eradicates pollutants, including ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene.
Rubber plants
Rubber plant or Ficus elastica is a native-Indian plant. For being an evergreen plant, it is always in demand. Rubber plants have the highest efficiency in destroying xylene, benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene present in the air.
Boston Fern
Boston Fern or Nephrolepis exaltata v. Bostoniensis is a moist lover plant. If the humidity of your area is high throughout the year, it would be a perfect plant for you.
This fern needs constant misting, watering, and damp soil and is also temperature-intolerant. Boston fern breaks down formaldehyde and xylene in the surrounding atmosphere.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera or Aloe barbadensis is a plant of multiple benefits. The gel derived from its leaves is the most nutritional food for your skin and hair.
Aloe vera helps you to get rid of any skin-related issues and improves the air quality concomitantly. This plant eliminates formaldehyde and allows fresh air into your room.
Conclusion
If it is the question of your health, nothing is negotiable. A persistent inhalation of toxic air can damage your lungs permanently and raise the chance of getting cancer.
And no matter if you are a lazy or active gardener, anyone can look after this sturdy plant. Pothos, your green friend, improves the air quality of your room and adds a charm to it.