EnviroHumanImpact

Looking to make your indoor environment cleaner? Sure, you can use greener household detergents and cosmetics. You can use greener paints with lower or no volatile organic compound (VOC) output. But there will always be toxins in your air from the outdoors, everyday products, your carpet, paint, cosmetics, leather treatments, etc.

To help your home to have cleaner, less toxic air: buy some houseplants. In addition to beautifying your home, houseplants reduce levels of toxic elements in your air, because like humans, they respire air and in turn remove some toxins.

There will also be, albeit slightly, increased levels of oxygen in your air from having several houseplants. Again, as with any gardening, do some research, start small, and be diligent in your care for your plants.

I recommend trying to find some philodendrons, as they are vibrant plants that require very little care and can grow quickly with adequate water and sunlight. They also have many broad leaves, giving better surface area for your air to pass by and be cleaned. Any added plants would be a boon to cleaner air for your home.

Does having plants reduce your overall envirohuman impact? Well, plants do help to clean the air and to a small degree, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, a main greenhouse gas found in air.

But, we also water plants with water that was typically cleaned, chlorinated, and pumped from miles away, probably canceling out the positive envirohuman impact of the plant’s reducing your carbon footprint, right?

Not so fast! It does not have to be that way. Because houseplants don’t really need that much water, you can probably use much of your own gray water for watering your plants. That is, you can use water that you have used already, but is still clean enough to water plants, on your houseplants.

So, for instance, if you washing lettuce or other produce, the last rinse water is probably the cleanest and could be used for a plant or two. Also, you could use your watering can (or just use a pitcher!) to collect the water you’re running through your pipes to get hot water. All of that cold water would likely be running down the drain, and you can use it to water your plants. Glass of water that is no longer fresh? Dump it directly on a houseplant.

Sound off! Tell us what you do to keep your indoor air quality at its best!

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