A Natural Way to Purify Indoor Air

By Belinda Burchick, RPh, BPharm

It’s that time of year to bring in your plants so you can reap the health benefits all winter long. All summer, your plants have been enjoying the sun and their healthy growth. The fall season is the perfect time to give your plants an annual checkup and bring them inside.

Since indoor plants take in carbon dioxide, filter out pollutants, and release oxygen, they are a great addition to any home. Studies have shown that plants can improve air quality in your home and potentially increase moisture for your skin. The beauty of plants and caring for them may even help elevate your mood and overall wellbeing. Handling soil during gardening may even promote microbiome diversity in your gut. All can contribute to overall good health. Breathing cleaner air can create calmness, mental clarity, and lessen anxiety. When your mind and body are calm, your heart rate, cortisol levels, and even blood pressure are improved. In addition, microbes in the soil have been shown to convert carbon dioxide into organic matter.

Pollution levels can be higher indoors due to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which are given off by carpeting, vinyl flooring, composite wood, upholstery, and cleaning products. During the winter months, more people spend time indoors, and it is too cold to open windows for ventilation. Therefore, there is increased exposure to these chemicals. Studies have proposed that millions of people globally have shorter lifespans due to indoor air pollution. Below is just a sampling of indoor plants that can make your home come alive. Please research each plant to determine if it is a right fit for your personality and schedule. Also, make sure to check if the plant is toxic to pets and children if ingested.

Snake Plant is efficient at clarifying sev- eral toxins from the air and considered the best indoor plant. It is the plant with the most oxygen production.

Dragon Tree is an attractive plant with a personality. It prefers low light and humidified air, so regular misting is important. This plan will freshen the air in any room. Overall, it takes little care.

Spider Plants are great for hanging baskets. Taking care of them is easy. It is adaptable, so it does not react as much to giving it too much water or not enough water and can be grown in any light or low light conditions.

English Ivy is a beautiful and fast-growing plant. It is good with having dry soil which makes it low maintenance. Great for hanging baskets, trellises, or any size container.

Prayer Plant is a small plant that grows in partial shade. This plant puts on a display by unfurling its leaves during the day and closing again at night.

Red Emerald Philodendron is a very decorative vining plant that will brighten any room, and it works hard to purify your home.

Pothos Ivy is most likely the easiest to grow, so it is considered the best plant for beginners. Only water every other week and it can be in rooms with low light.

Kimberly Queen Fern livens up a room and is a natural humidifier.

Succulents and Cacti are droughtresistant, and only need to water a little when the soil is completely dry. A variety of small succulents and cacti make a nice shallow potted arrangement.

Aloe Vera Plants help remove many toxins from your home. The gel from inside the aloe vera plant can help soothe sunburns and other skin conditions.

ZZ Plant is a stylish plant and easily cared for, liking low light conditions and only needing to be watered every other week.

Chinese Evergreen is a slow growing and attractive plant. They thrive in a variety of light settings. This plant can decrease household dust and increase the humidity in your home.

Peace Lily is great for beginners. They can bring a sense of calm. These plants show off their white waxy flowers during springtime. If ingested, can cause vomiting or tongue swelling.

Bromeliads are considered tropical plants that show off flower spikes, which are available in many colors and shapes.

For more information, go online and check out NASA’s air filtering plant list.

Now that you know how important these plants are to purifying the air indoors, it is time to prepare them for their move inside. Below are some quick tips to consider:

• Plants should come back indoors before the temperature goes below 55°F at night. Plants can easily go into shock, and you could lose your plant.

• Clean your tools with rubbing alcohol, so not to transfer disease between plants.

• Hose off your plants to rid them of any pests, then spray the leaves with diluted neem oil.

• If you want more of the same plant or to give to a friend, you can put the plant cuttings into a small vase with water and watch the roots grow. You can plant them in a pot in the spring. Succulents are even easier to propagate. You can just insert the leaves into the moist soil and most succulents will begin to sprout.

With the right indoor plants, you can make your home your sanctuary, and the perfect place to recharge. n

Belinda Burchick, RPh, BPharm, has focused her career on geriatric pharmacy and automated dispensing systems to promote patient safety and improve health outcomes. For the last 10 years, she has served as Chief Pharmacy Officer (CPO) for a long-term care pharmacy, servicing the geriatric population in nursing homes, assisted living, independent living, and the senior day programs, such as, Pennsylvania’s LIFE programs and the PACE programs in multiple states.

Belinda oversees the pharmacy operations in three pharmacies, located in Denver, Philadelphia and headquarters in Pittsburgh.