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Reduce Your Operating Costs When You Dust With Plants

Try dusting your office with plants and cut your operating costs and employee sick leave. That’s the latest recommendation from the Plants for Clean Air Council and it is based on research from Washington State University, U.S.A.

According to scientists at WSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, placing plants around all types of office equipment actually reduces dust levels in the computer lab, office or home. Dust can be harmful to computer hard drives as well as copiers, fax machines and humans!

Results from Dr. Virginia’s Lohr’s newest research, “Particulate Matter Accumulation on Horizontal Surfaces in Interiors: Influence Of Foliage Plants”, adds yet another reason to have plants in the workplace and in the home. These experiments proved that the accumulation of dust in interiors can be reduced by as much as 20% by adding foliage plants. This study documents that the relationship between plants and interior air quality is an important area to pursue, particularly as it relates to potential human health effects.

Experiments were held in two offices with central, forced-air systems. Particulate matter–DUST accumulation on horizontal surfaces was monitored in both the presence and absence of plants. Site 1 was a 27-station, instructional computer laboratory at Washington State University. The treatment period in the lab was seven days long. Common low-light tolerant species of interior plants were used. Readings of stomatal conductance taken after plants were placed in the room indicated that stomates were functioning. The formation of new foliage throughout the course of the experiment indicated that plants were adapted to the lab and were growing slowly.

Site 2 was an office at WSU and foliage plants similar to those used in the computer lab were randomly added to or removed from a single office space weekly during a five-month period. Plants grew and slowly increased in size during the experiment indicating that they were adapting to the environment. When added, plants occupied about 5% of the total room volume and were located around the periphery of the office.

For details on how plants remove pollutants from an office space read FACTS