My biologist friend said houseplants don't actually clean the air like we think. Threw my whole desk jungle into question.

I was showing off my collection at work last week, like 15 plants crammed around my desk. My buddy from the lab down the hall just goes 'you know that NASA study everyone quotes? It was done in sealed chambers, not real rooms.' He said in a normal office with some airflow, the effect is basically nothing. I argued back about the mental health benefits and he admitted that part is real. But now I'm torn. Half my motivation for buying a new fern every month was convincing myself it was scrubbing the air. Anyone else run into this and change how you think about your setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

martin.jamie1mo ago

Yeah that's a bummer to hear.

spencer_sanchez671mo ago

NASA did that study in a 10x10 sealed chamber with like 200 plants per square foot lol. In a real office with normal HVAC you'd need a literal forest to match one air exchange from the ventilation system. Your fern is doing jack squat for the air quality but who cares, the mental health boost is real and way more valuable anyway. I keep a dozen plants around my desk and they're basically just pretty roommates that need water.