A groundbreaking new study has revealed that houseplants may not be positively impacting our air quality after all, despite what many of us believe.
While potted plants, cacti and succulents may complement our surroundings, their cleansing abilities are "vastly overrated" and a "myth", says the study.
In fact, researchers for the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology discovered that it would actually take up to 93 plants per square-foot of floor to compete with an office ventilation system.
The study found that, while individual plants do soak-up dangerous chemicals in the air, they do so too slowly to have any kind of significant impact. This means that the overall effect of indoor plants on air quality is almost insignificant.
"This has been a common misconception for some time. Plants are great, but they don't actually clean indoor air quickly enough to have an effect on the air quality of your home or office environment," Michael Waring from Drexel University in Philadelphia told the Daily Mail.
"This is certainly an example of how scientific findings can be misleading or misinterpreted over time. But it's also a great example of how scientific research should continually re-examine and question findings to get closer to the ground truth of understanding what's actually happening around us," Michael said.
The team who conducted the research also found that potentially toxic chemicals are released from household items such as paint, printers and even dry-cleaned clothes.
Elsewhere, The Royal College of Physicians estimated in a similar study that indoor pollution causes around 99,000 deaths in Europe each year, with many others blaming unclean air for headaches and illnesses.
3 ways to naturally clean your air at home
Some of the ways you can naturally clean your air at home include...
- Getting rid of a carpet as this can harbour many toxins
- Clean your home regularly to ensure the air stays dust-free
- Increase ventilation. Some experts recommend getting your hands on an exhaust fan to push pollutants outside
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