Research now shows that houseplants play an important role in cleaning the air we breath, both indoors and out.
Plants produce their own food through a process called photosynthesis.
This means they take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen. They occur because they are emitted from furnishings, office equipment and some building materials. Under controlled conditions, in the NASA study, certain houseplants were found to remove as much as 87 percent of indoor air pollutants within 24 hours. But during the 1970's, after energy shortages occurred, more and more of us began to insulate our houses and office buildings to conserve energy and lower heating and cooling costs. As a result, indoor air might linger for five hours or more allowing pollutants to accumulate.