Might as well code next to an air-cleaning indoor plant

[Keya]

There are some pot plants that are very easy to grow (very hard to kill!), inexpensive, hardly need any TLC, and don't need much light or water ... so what's your excuse for not having one (or a few!) in your immediate work area!?!? (nearly xmas!)

but this isnt just about absorbing your CO2 and rewarding you with fresh oxygen - might as well get a plant that's also good at cleaning the air! think: carbon monoxide, nitrogen monoxide, formaldehyde, chloroform, benzene, xylene, trichloroethylene...

A NASA study found certain houseplants could remove as much as 87% of indoor air pollutants within 24 hours. It seems for full effect you need one every 100 square feet/9 square meters. Or simply sit it by your work computer!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

So i'm going to put it out there that for anyone who works at a desk it just makes sense to have a pot plant like one of the ~30 listed in that NASA study

[Dude]

what's your excuse for not having one (or a few!) in your immediate work area!?!?

I've got one of these: http://www.desksoft.com/DesktopPlant.htm

Isn't that good enough?

[Keya]

the best $20 you ever spent lol im lost for words ... interesting app!

[Dude]

I remember first seeing that app in my Windows 95 days.

[J. Baker]

Thanks for posting. I love plants. They are pleasing to look at too. I'm sure they help with mental wellness to some degree as well.

[normeus]

@Keya,

I don't need hear say, give me names so I can take care of BUSINESS!

famous quote from:

Generalisimo of a Banana republic about people asking for better wages,

also new USA energy department about people who believe in global warming fairy tales,

and last ME asking about which plants dare not die when in front of my presence.

all kidding aside I would love to know which plant can survive my over/under watering and get rid of the hot gas I exhale.
PLEASE GIVE ME THOSE NAMES

Thank you.
Norm.

[idle]

I like pot plants but the sun lamps might be a little too bright next to my desk!

[netmaestro]

Not legal in my country just yet but by this time next year it will be, I'll give it a try then.

[Keya]

I like pot plants but the sun lamps might be a little too bright next to my desk!

There's nooo way i'd have a pot plant that would require a lamp either! so we pick a plant that doesnt need one
[caffeine-free edit] oooh, you mean those 1000w lights haha *taps nose and nods*

Not legal in my country just yet but by this time next year it will be, I'll give it a try then.

Yes dont worry most of the rest of the world is still living in or feeling the adverse effects of the 1930's war on drugs propaganda nonsense too, sadly. All i've seen is the war on chemotherapy patients, but i'll keep politics out of this.

all kidding aside I would love to know which plant can survive my over/under watering and get rid of the hot gas I exhale. PLEASE GIVE ME THOSE NAMES

Surprisingly quite a lot of those plants are easy to grow, and NASA did the study with the aim of finding out which plants would be suitable for cleaning space habitats so im guessing they were looking more at "indoor plants" in the first place too.

There are really three key 'go to' champions in the field of air cleaning, of course all listed in NASA's study, in no order ...
- Areca palm, Golden Cane Palm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dypsis_lutescens
- Mother-in-law's Tongue, Snake Plant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansevieria_trifasciata
- Money Plant, Golden Pothos, Devil's Ivy/Vine - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epipremnum_aureum

The easiest one to start with is the Sansevieria (Mother In Law's Tongue aka Snake Plant). "If you have a difficult time with your house plants, the Sansevieria is the plant for you."
http://www.ourhouseplants.com/plants/sansevieria

- removes 4 of the 5 main toxic chemicals in the NASA study (only 2 plants removed all 5, but neither of those are particularly suitable for me as a non-gardener). Of course it removes a bucketload of others too (170+ i read the other day), but NASA were looking at 5.
- its very hard to kill (while ornamental it can be considered a weed in the wild)
- doesn't need much watering (you're more likely to overwater it).
- nice and clean; no old dead leaves or pollen dust to collect.
- doesn't need much light. You dont need any direct sunlight, just a window somewhere really. A good description i read was "loves dark, moody low lighting but appreciates a little dappled sun from time to time. A bit like a teenager"
- inexpensive and very accessible; should be able to find at any nursery in most countries
- its one of the few plants that actually creates oxygen at night (most plants don't and actually just consume a little bit), so it's considered "the bedroom plant" of the 3
- amazingly no batteries or electricity required, yet these babies generate oxygen and absorb toxic chemicals 24/7
- because formaldehyde is one of the key toxins it removes its also good for people with allergies caused by formaldehyde - i know somebody who gets eczema which doctors ultimately traced to formaldehyde allergy (its part of standard patch tests)

They grow very slowly and you typically get them as 3-10" little guys, but they can grow quite tall even in a small pot (never 'too tall' though, i dont think they get past waist high):

Mother-in-law tongue, aka Snake plant - Sansevieria trifasciata
but as you can see they dont take up much space except vertically, and everyones got vertical space!
I like their punk rock hair attitude look too! lol. suits their beautifully variegated leaves

In the TED talk about it i think the person mentioned you would need 6 waist-high Sansevieria's if you wanted to live in a sealed cube with zero air input or output (ie. full CO2 absorption and oxygen replenishment required to sustain 1x human life in for example a space station), and when you think about how much you breathe out every few seconds that's some seriously hardcore WORK being done by those plants, almost slaving away for us! (i would love to see that oxygen generation somehow visualised!)

ps. great Christmas gift i think (i dont think they would be if they weren't so low maintenance!)

[Mistrel]

I read the thread title as: "Might as well code your next an air-cleaning indoor plant".

Not legal in my country just yet but by this time next year it will be, I'll give it a try then.

House plants aren't legal in your country?

[Keya]

just a couple of short related youtube vids for anyone interested!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxi6KOdlTTM (3:17)
This "Suburban Hippie" tested out NASA's Clean Air Study in his own home, I think he's a programmer as he used "Arduino Air" sensors -- cool! He thought "maybe it might work a little bit" but he was blown away by the readings he was getting - "it works like gangbusters!" and thats with just 3 small plants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmn7tjSNyAA (4:04)
TED talk - "How to grow fresh air". This researcher lives with the extremely poor air quality of Delhi, India, and is revolutionizing office/living spaces there.

[netmaestro]

I read the thread title as: "Might as well code your next an air-cleaning indoor plant"

Not the title so much as the first line:

There are some pot plants that are very easy to grow [..]

[idle]

It's all good sound advice considering the amount of toxins like formaldehyde that leech out of some floor boards.
fortunately for me I live in an old naturally ventilated shelter that vaguely resembles a house perched above the bush by the sea.
calling it a house to those who live in cold winter climates just doesn't cut it, hardly any insulation and the windows
are always open.

[Keya]

your windows are always open in winter in NZ?

[Mistrel]

There are some places where there is no local thermostat so sometimes the whole building (or just the upper floors) get overheated in the winter such that people have to regulate the temperature by opening their windows.

I lived in an apartment kind of like that once but instead of turning on the heat they just never turned it on. The owner was a slum lord and did creepy things like hire a superintendent that didn't speak english so you couldn't ever ask him to do anything; so you'd bother the owner who would send the super to your door but didn't tell him what needed fixing. Oh, what a joy that place was to live..