Do you have living plants inside your home? Just the other day I realized that while I made sure my garden was in good condition, I hardly had any living plants inside. When we first moved into this house a year and a half ago, I had two large houseplants inside, one very tall, reaching my double height living room ceiling, and the other one of those spider plants, like the one above. I’m not sure why, but both languished for the next few months, and when I found a nasty termite hole under the pot of the large one, I moved both plants outside.
This I now regret, because I have since learned that the amounts of chemicals inside our homes were huge – and this is just from ordinary, everyday living. And one way to combat its ill effects (like cancer) are non-other than the humble houseplant. Here are some examples of the big baddies which are most probably in your home as we speak.
Formaldehyde
This nasty one causes cancer and is shockingly found in pretty much everything (if you bought your furniture/clothes etc. etc. at regular stores) – your dining table, your carpet, your pad of paper – even the gas for your stove! In the past I always associated it with preserving the dead, so it’s an even scarier idea, for me especially, that this stuff is actually on the tabletop my family eat off on, and maybe even my makeup.
Benzene
This is another bad one, and a known carcinogen found in a huge assortment of everyday stuff like ink, plastic, glue, solvents, rubber, oils, paints, detergents, and even some meds. It can affect you even with low levels, from milder maladies like headaches to anemia and blood diseases like Leukemia. There are actually lawyers who are dedicated in litigating against the environmental effects of Benzine, and their website has a concise list on what products have Benzine in it.
Trichloroethylene
Exposure to this (in high doses) affects your nervous system, heart, lung and can seriously cause severe damage to your liver. It is found in dry cleaning materials, paint and adhesives.
Carbon Monoxide
We all know this one, which is found cigarette smoke, gas ranges, fire places, car exhausts, wood stoves and other gasoline-powered equipment. You cant see or smell it, but high levels can kill you FAST.
So aside from being more careful the next time you purchase a piece of furniture, decide to do some dry cleaning, or have the house painted, you can also protect yourself and your family by surrounding your home with chemical-fighting houseplants – more on that in my next post!