Question from Adica
Hi Debra,
I’ve been researching how to improve the air in my house, and one of the things I’ve been researching lately is various types of house plants that can help clean the air (from the NASA study). When searching this site, I read that some were concerned about mold in the plant soil becoming its own air contaminant. In my research, I found a replication study of the original NASA study that stated that you should use “[s]everal centimeters of small washed gravel … to cover the surface of pot plants when large numbers of plants are kept in the home … to reduce the exposed area of damp potting soil which encourages the growth of molds (fungi)” (Houseplants, Indoor Air Pollutants, and Allergic Reactions by Wolverton, 1986, abstract and p. 7). Although, people with allergies would probably want to do this with all plants, regardless of the number, and would probably want to start with only one or two.
I hope this helps some people!
-Adica
