How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office

by B.C. Wolverton

How pure is the air you breathe?Plants are the lungs of the earth: they produce the oxygen that makes life possible, add precious moisture, and filter toxins. Houseplants can perform these essential functions in your home or office with the same efficiency as a rainforest in our biosphere.

In research designed to create a breathable environment for a NASA lunar habitat, noted scientist Dr. B.C. Wolverton discovered that houseplants are the best filters of common pollutants such as ammonia, formaldehyde, and benzene. Hundreds of these poisonous chemicals can be released by furniture, carpets, and building material, and then trapped by closed ventilation systems, leading to the host of respiratory and allergic reactions now called Sick Building Syndrome. In this full-color, easy-to-follow guide, Dr. Wolverton shows you how to grow and nurture 50 plants as accessible and trouble-free as the tulip and the Boston fern, and includes many beautiful but commonly found varieties not generally thought of as indoor plants. He also rates each plant for its effectiveness in removing pollutants, and its ease of growth and maintenance.

Studies show that Americans spend ninety percent of their lives indoors, which means that good indoor air quality is vital for good health. How to Grow Fresh Air will show you how to purify the environment that has the most impact on you.
--back cover

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Science, Health, Reference, Plants, Nature

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How to Grow Fresh Air" is a nonfiction book about plants' ability to remove common office and household toxins from our indoor air. The book had two parts: 31 pages on how plants purify the air and what the research said about which plants are best at removing common air pollutants; and 100 pages with details about the 50 house plants.

The first part discussed indoor air pollution and the health problems caused by it (with a chart showing what sources--like carpeting, paint, and plywood--gave what harmful air pollutant). The author then described how plants produce oxygen, put water into the air, etc. He then talked about studies done on the effectiveness of using houseplants to remove harmful air pollutants and what they found. He included charts showing the results for the ability of various plants to remove four different harmful air pollutants and charts for other findings. The last seven pages were a basic plant care guide on light level, planting medium, watering, and pest management.

The plant listing had a 2-page spread for each plant listed. The first page had a small, full-view picture of the plant, the plant's name (common and official), and some information about the house plant, its selection, and its care. Along one edge of the page, the following information was briefly given: name; origin; how much light it likes (full sun, semi-shade, etc.); preferred temperature range; pests and problems; care; and what to plant it in. A chart at the bottom of the page rated the plant on its ability to remove chemical vapors, ease of growth and maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, and the amount of water it puts into the air. The second page was a full page, close-up picture of the plant's leaves.

I bought this book several years ago because my house just "felt sick" to me. I had only three small house plants since I was growing so many plants outdoors. I found this book very interesting and immediately bought several more houseplants. They flourished, and my house stopped feeling so "sick" to me--plus I stopped getting sick all of the time. So I do think this information helped. I'd recommend it to people who feel mildly sick most of the time or are concerned about their indoor air purity.

[Tinea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise: Plants have beneficial properties for indoor environments. They circulate and humidify air through transpiration. They add oxygen (and sequester carbon, yay!). Certain plants have sweet bacteria on their roots that sucks air down into the soil and detoxes it of scary chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, and ammonia. They release phytochemicals that kill molds and microbes. Awesome!

Now let's write a vacuous picture book that dedicates two thirds of its pages to fairly useless and off-topic descriptions of the 50 best purifying houseplants. I'll save you the trouble of reading it. Palms and other tree-like tropical rainforest plants clean air best. Aloe's cool to put in your bedroom because it releases oxygen at night. Peace lilies are pretty (and effective). Put them all near your face (desk, bedside, by the couch...)

This all could have been accomplished with an essay and a list. Or, conversely, more science!

[Bruce]

Down-to-earth information, nice colour photos of the plants they list, and from my experience so far (I've tried growing two plants mentioned in the book), nice information about what conditions each plant is suited to.

After reading this book I started recognising quite a few of the plants the book lists in people's gardens.

I also found the description of what the author is doing in his own home inspiring.

I first heard about this book after watching a TED talk video called "How to grow your own fresh air" featuring Kamal Meattle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmn7tj...

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad that at least 4 of these plants commonly used as houseplants are poisonous (to humans, children, and/or animals). Lovely. I will take one of each.

Also, I kinda want to try Dumb Cane just to test its effects (though I won't because I'm not dumb. hee hee puns :0 )

[Daniela Betancourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buena info!! Me gustaría que se fuera menos extenso el catálogo y más información sobre sustratos, cultivos, datos duros etc

Muy digerible :)

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just took this book back to the library. Although it was interesting, and well photographed, I wanted it to give me a plan for growing my own little "air purifier." This book would be a handy reference for someone who is already familiar with growing indooor plants, but for someone like me (who is not in anyway a green thumb) the book wasn't very helpful.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beginner guide to indoor plants. I appreciate that he goes through the background of why the book exists and then individually discusses each plant. I would appreciate more detail on each plant (for example, only some entries mention whether a plant is hazardous to pets or people) but it's a good starting point.

[Brittney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative on how to obtain a healthier living environment through plants. I enjoyed learning about the various house plants. The first half of the book was a great lead into the information about the top plants that can improve air quality in indoor environments.

[Prajakta Wani · Rating 5 out of 5]

An illustrated guide about the health benefits of houseplants and a list of 50 air purifying plants for your home and office interiors.

Read detailed book review on my blog link below

https://mycandidpost.blogspot.com/202...

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, easy to understand advice on growing houseplants. Has detailed pages of the most common plants, with graphs comparing light and moisture requirements, along with a general 'how easy is it to kill this plant' rating for those with only slightly green thumbs.

[Sarah O'Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book for finding the best plants to create a clean air home.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

very informative.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good introductory book for somebody who wants to start with growing house plants with added benefit of picking plants not just for their look but even for their ability to improve indoor air quality.

The only drawback of this book I see in missing info whether and how toxic are these plants. This can be important for somebody with small kids or house animals.

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK SO everything in your house / apartment / office off-gases horrible things (including formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene) and since interior air doesn't circulate that well, poisonous air tends to accumulate. Then you breathe it and it can make you sick (headaches, eye pain, cancer, whatever). Plants can purify the air because they are so magical and science is cool. On one hand, I'm not sure if the science behind some of these ideas is totally pure but I do agree with the general theory.

Also, I am a little bothered that they recommend the same old same old standard ugly office plants. I know that this book is about getting people to improve interior air quality with plants that are accessible, cheap, easy to find and easy to propagate, so I kind of understand it but I still resent commonplace, boring plants as a matter of principle. I prefer curious specimens to a living space packed with foliage.... although even a heart-leafed philodendron or spider plant could be interesting if it filled an entire wall (woolly packets maybe?)

Anyway, There are more interesting varieties of some of plants listed in this book, e.g. asparagus ferns are more attractive than the boston fern recommended by this book. Check out a decent local nursery for related varieties. I've heard of people having success with buying plants on ebay. Although I haven't gone there, I'm probably enough of a snob to do it. I am thinking about adding an obscure bromeliad or cycalmen to my desk at work... and maybe an asparagus fern or a Norfolk Island pine. Right now I only keep a handful of tillandsia & it feels sparse.

Note: Several of the most helpful plants for indoor air quality are poisonous -- this matters a lot of you have small children or pets that mindlessly chew on leaves. My cat, Elsa loves houseplants out of sheer boredom sometimes. I would be devastated if I killed my pet by trying to have really great indoor air quality, so keep in mind that there are a lot of factors in choosing the right plant - light, soil & water requirements, how they look, how they improve your air, and how poisonous they are to your loved ones.

[bartosz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was inspired to seek out this book by an infographic I've seen floating around the Internet. How to Grow Fresh Air by B.C. Wolverton is a fine compendium of knowledge about plants and how to use them to purify and humidify the air.

The book is very short and to the point. It starts with a theoretical introduction explaining the problem of indoor air pollution (the SBS - sick building syndrome), how plants act as lungs of the earth and how they can be harnessed to combat SBS.

This is followed by a ranking of fifty houseplants rated by their filtering power, ease of cultivation, resistance to infections and the rate of transpiration along with their descriptions, and general advice and maintenance tips

How to Grow Fresh Air is an excellent compendium for clueless people like me who want to get started with horticulture and are afraid of indoor and outdoor pollution.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic! It is a little on the dry side, but packed with great information. I like the format, first explaining the background behind why indoor air pollution can be an issue and what causes it, then how plants can combat it, and finally devoting a full page to each of the 50 plants they studied that do a good job counteracting the pollutant.

It was a nice surprise to know we already have several of them in our house! None of the real superhero ones in terms of combating pollutants, but still nice to have some of the top 50 - we have aloe plants, christmas catcus, and spider plants. I enjoy having plants so I figure why not make my next purchases be some plants that are proven to do a good job cleaning the air?

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone who picks up this book will want to have plants in their home or office. Great reference for many of the houseplants I already inherited from my mother and mother-in-law, care instructions for 50 plants included. The author worked for NASA in developing interiors for space travelers. Basically, we need plants and since many houseplants are tropical in origin they need us to survive northern climates. Plants take in many pollutants through their leaves transporting them to their root system where they are broken down my microbes in the soil.

[Cami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting take on a houseplant book.
It took various plants, many not usual 'houseplants,' and rated them according to their ability to remove chemical vapors, the ease of growth and maintenance, resistance to insect infestation, and transpiration rate.
The Areca and Lady Palms tied as the top two best over all, while the beautiful Moth Orchid and the cute Kalanchoe received the lowest over-all ratings.
Don't know what any of these plants are? Read the book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

addendums needed for this book:
1 "and how to keep your cat from eating them"
2 "what to do if your cat has eaten your Madagascar palm - late night visits to the vet - and notes on prevention"

I had forgotten why I had cut back on house plants, saw this book, read it and got inspired to repopulate my house with greenery. Then I remembered the dark history of Cosmo vs. my plants - the arms race - sharp plants - plants placed high upon pedestals - Cosmo tends to win.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverton was involved in studies done by NASA to find ways to keep air within a space ship breathable. This book explains how plants can be used to remove toxins from the air. It has a guide that rates plants according to their ability to freshen air, their ease of care, and some other characteristics.

Interesting and well informed. His research is methodical. It did motivate me to populate my house with plants!

[boatierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my all time favorite books and is one of my favorite books to give as a gift. I've lost count as to how many times I've given this as a gift. I first discovered this book on the bookshelf at a friend's mom's house. I find that it is easy to read and along with wonderful pictures extremely informative. It’s a great gift for any house plant lover or for someone who is just starting their house plant collection.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is more of a reference book I wanted to share it on goodreads because I think it's so useful. It discusses houseplants that will filter the air in your home. Our homes are full of lots of chemicals--toxic and otherwise--and specific plants are useful for filtering specific chemicals. This is a wonderful way to "clean up" our homes (and make them look nice too).

BTW, HomeDepot had several of the plants they recommended, at about half the price of my local nursery.

[Malina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there was more info in the book overall - it gives a good basic intro to the plants and how to care for them, but leaves me still not sure about some things, like hydroplanting, (can't remember the word for soil free water planting with special rocks?) which I had never heard of previously. Good starting point to expanding the TED talk on growing your own fresh air I think.

[Ann Kucera · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent reference for indoor plants. How to Grow Fresh Air by Dr. B. C. Wolverton discusses indoor air pollution, how houseplants purify the air and gives a ranking of 50 common houseplants in order of their ability to detoxify air, add humidity, and resistance to disease. The book also gives a fast overveiw of ideal growing conditions.

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. What houseplant pulls what toxins out of the air in your home or office? Answers here.

Seeing this in the book department of Outpost Natural Foods today reminded me of its value. I bought three copies of this book over the years because I lent each copy. Each borrower liked it so much that they kept it.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've taken this one out of the library a few times, too. Nice photos and it itemizes which pollutants different plants are good at eliminating from the air; goes into detail on requirements for growth and care.

[susie Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

yes, nasa has trailers where they are trying to figure out which plants won't kill us all when we're hanging out star trek style. if you worry about exposures from your computer this book has several plant recommendations.

bottom line: palms=good air purifiers.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a neat book! I recently became interested in using plant in the home to purify the air and this book was so helpful in providing an education on the topic. The information is informative, yet concise. It also includes a look at 50 individual plants and their performance in the home.

[AskNezka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a great explanation about the top 50 plants that can clean your air; and most of them are easily found at most garden stores ... and usually are easy to care for, except for some having susceptibility to mites.

[Kristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book has good information, but does not discuss toxicity to pets. Organization could have been a bit better.

Basically, I am sticking with whatever plants I can find easily at a garden store or big box home store.