Found some interesting info doing my chemistry homework I thought I’d share about how houseplants improve indoor air quality.
Plants not only convert CO2 into oxygen but also remove some air pollutants. Walking into a room with several plants you can immediately feel a perceived improvement in air quality. While the plants do in fact improve the air, the sight, smell, and ambiance of plant life also can have a psychophysiologic effect to improving your heath.
In the 1980’s NASA and ALCA spent two years testing 19 different common houseplants for their ability remove common pollutants from the air. Depending on the plant, or combination of plants, common air polluting chemicals such as Benzene, Trichloroethylene, and Formaldehyde can all be filtered through the plants process of photosynthesis.
A book written by B.C. Wolverton , the NASA scientist who conducted this experiment Is a good source for further reading if you would like to start filling your home up with plants.
It is called “How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office”
http://www.amazon.com/How-Grow-Fresh-Air-Plants/dp/0140262431/
For some reason all of the links to the original study on NASA or other .gov sites are not available but an overview of it can be found on several sites.
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h110Indoorair.html
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/Spinoff2007/ps_3.html