室内空气污染主要来自清洁剂、蜡、油漆和清漆等家用产品，其中常含苯和甲苯等挥发性有机化合物，也可能含会缓慢释放的甲醛。对儿童而言尤其有害，因为他们大部分时间待在室内且肺部更敏感。

植物净化空气的证据最早可追溯到20世纪80年代：NASA在装有甲醛污染空气的小型有机玻璃舱中测试多种植物，持续数小时，发现蜘蛛植物等能有效去除甲醛。随后研究表明，不同植物可通过叶片表面吸附、气孔吸入、酶分解以及将污染物输送到根部供土壤微生物消耗等方式发挥作用。

但在家庭环境中，这种效果很有限。最有希望的结果来自密闭小腔体和长时间暴露，而普通房间实验尚未显示出明显收益；即便“活墙”更接近真实场景，一项研究也只显示60平方厘米的植物能让办公室二氧化碳浓度下降不到2%。

Household air pollution often comes from cleaning solvents, waxes, paints, and varnishes, which can contain volatile organic compounds such as benzene and toluene and may also release formaldehyde over time. These toxins are especially concerning for children, who spend much of their time indoors and have more sensitive lungs.

Evidence that plants can help dates back to the 1980s, when NASA tested several plants in small Plexiglas chambers filled with formaldehyde-polluted air and found that spider plants and others could remove the toxin over many hours. Later studies showed that plants may trap pollutants on hairy, waxy, or rough leaves, absorb them through stomata, break them down with enzymes, or pass them to roots where soil microbes consume them.

In homes, however, the effect is weak. The strongest results come from tightly controlled chambers, while experiments in ordinary rooms have not shown meaningful benefits; even living walls have produced only small gains, including a study in which 60 square centimetres of plants reduced an office’s carbon-dioxide concentration by just under 2%.

Source: Do houseplants improve air quality?

Subtitle: Air purifiers are more effective and easier to maintai

Dateline: 5月 14, 2026 11:25 上午