Better Air in Your Home Is Right Under Your Nose

Do you wake up every morning with a stuffy nose? Watery eyes? That dragged out feeling? Relief might be right under your nose.

Many of our average household plants are natural air purifiers. If placed strategically around your home, they can rid the air of harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene, and chemicals found in spot removers and furniture polish.

Have you noticed that people rarely open their windows to air out their homes, cars, and work sheds? We go from air-conditioned or heated environments in our homes to the same in our cars and work environments. When was the last time you felt the cool breeze of the morning air across your face? Or the intoxicating smell of freshly cut grass and sweet smells of wildflowers?

Our homes have become miniature chemical manufacturing sites. Nasty chemical byproducts of everyday household cleaners are floating in your home’s airspace and entering and causing havoc to your bodies.

And why do we allow these insults to enter our homes and infect our children and pets? Because we think that a clean house is a healthier house. What appears on the outside to be clean is actually harboring chemicals that most of us couldn’t pronounce on a good day!

Does that mean you should discard all of your household cleaners? Probably not–unless you want to commit to going green. Unfortunately most of us haven’t bought into that yet (let’s save that one for another article).

The fact is that under the sinks in most households you will find the offending culprits: furniture polish, carpet stain removers, air cleaners, disinfectants, counter-top cleaners etc.

• The best way to rid your home of these lingering chemicals is to open up your windows and air it out.

• You can also decorate and purify your home with the natural beauty of plant foliage. Plants are natural air purifiers; they absorb the harmful chemicals in the air and break them down within their root system. Plants also convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, a vital component of human cellular health.

Here are some common household plants you could start with:
• Aloe vera
• Bamboo fern
• Boston fern
• Chinese evergreen
• Chrysanthemum
• English ivy
• Focus
• Philodendron
• Rubber plant

You don’t have to have a green thumb to have beautiful and thriving greenery. Some plants need very little care while others need lots of sunlight and daily watering.

Go ahead, don’t be afraid to experiment with a few different plants and see which work best for you. Be naturally savvy and health smart! The next time you go to the store to replenish your household cleaning products, pick up a couple of the beauties listed above and brighten up a room with the green of nature.

To find out more about the chemicals you breathe visit www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov.

In health and wellness,

Dr. Linda Mundorff

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/hide comments

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment