# How much do houseplants help regarding adding oxygen to your rooms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764 "2018-02-28T18:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/1 "2018-02-28T18:34:19Z")
How much do houseplants help regarding adding oxygen to your rooms? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/2 "2018-02-28T18:36:46Z")
Given that any room you are in is almost certain to be open to the outside atmosphere of the Earth, I’d say so close to zero percent that you might as well call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/3 "2018-02-28T18:46:41Z")
That’s correct. [Do houseplantsincrease oxygen levels?](https://www.gardenmyths.com/houseplants-increase-oxygen-levels/) > [@](#): > > Humans consume 550 L oxygen per day (ref 1). How much plant growth do we need to produce that amount of oxygen? > > Plants produce 22 L for every 150 g of growth (ref 2). They would need to increase in weight by 3.75 Kg (8 pounds), each day, to produce the oxygen used by one person. > > Keep in mind that plants grow slowly. Adding 3.75 Kg to your houseplants every day would require a huge number of plants. > > In most homes the plants cannot produce oxygen at anywhere near the amounts we consume. > > From the NASA Fact Sheet we know that air contains 20.95% O2 and 0.04% CO2. If you had enough plants in a room to use up all of the CO2 and convert it to oxygen, the oxygen levels would increase from 20.95% to 21% (ref 3). This increase is difficult to detect and would have no effect on humans. Keep in mind that this increase is the maximum increase possible and assumes plants would use all the CO2 available. In real life the increase is even less. > > Do Houseplants Increase Oxygen Levels? > > Not really. They do add oxygen to the room, but in such small amounts that their contribution is negligible. People have a much larger effect on O2 and CO2 levels in a room than plants. If you want to live in a higher oxygen environment – get rid of the spouse and kids! > > The main factor contributing to good oxygen levels is the ventilation rate – the exchange of air with the outdoors. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/4 "2018-02-28T19:50:10Z")
So, if I smuggle in 100 illegals to live in my basement, will they produce enough CO2 to double my house plants’ growth? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/5 "2018-02-28T20:10:17Z")
Note that although the cite talks about “converting the CO2 in a room to oxygen,” this is somewhat misleading. The O2 produced by plants actually comes from splitting water molecules during the process of photosynthesis. The CO2 is converted into carbohydrates. The actual chemical equation is: 6 CO2 + 6 H2O ------\> C6H12O6 + 6 O2 So the practical effect is the same, in that photosynthesizing 6 molecules of carbon dioxide will yield 6 molecules of oxygen, even though that oxygen comes from water. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/6 "2018-02-28T20:20:38Z")
I understood the value of houseplants as being in the absorption of assorted mucky chemicals in the house [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/7 "2018-02-28T21:04:31Z")
Incidentally, it’s true in general that plants only, on net, produce oxygen to the extent that they’re growing. Any plant that’s just sitting there is not increasing oxygen levels, no matter what scale you’re looking at (such as an entire forest). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/8 "2018-02-28T21:13:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Incidentally, it’s true in general that plants only, on net, produce oxygen to the extent that they’re growing. Any plant that’s just sitting there is not increasing oxygen levels, no matter what scale you’re looking at (such as an entire forest). Pretty much. And if they are not growing (and not entirely dormant) they are respiring, consuming oxygen and producing carbon dioxide, in order to maintain their tissues. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/9 "2018-02-28T21:51:49Z")
So, at night when houseplants are respirating they are, in fact, suffocating us? … ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/10 "2018-02-28T23:48:26Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I understood the value of houseplants as being in the absorption of assorted mucky chemicals in the house > > [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me) I’d love for this to be true, as I’ve got a zillion (well, 500 or more) house plants. Problem is, 99 times out of 100 the articles citing this claim base their conclusions on that old NASA study, which is pretty flimsy stuff on which to rely for effects in the home. I’ve yet to see a sizable, well-conducted study that correlated house plant growing with significant positive health effects. The other problem - the more house plants you grow, the more time you generally spend combatting plant pests - with “mucky chemicals”. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/11 "2018-03-01T22:22:10Z")
I vaguely recall that on this board in another thread about space travel, someone said that in a closed system like a spacecraft, if you grow enough plants to eat and survive, the amount of oxygen created by the plants would equal the amount required by the people. Feel free to correct me if I remember incorrectly, or if I correctly remember something that was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/12 "2018-03-01T23:57:54Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > I understood the value of houseplants as being in the absorption of assorted mucky chemicals in the house > > [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/58KFJzpJb2kyLtDPhhHqnbQ/are-perfumed-products-bad-for-me) also, our souls crave verdure - not something we know how to measure ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/13 "2018-03-02T00:16:05Z")
Many hospitals ban or discourage flowers in wards because they used up oxygen or as a health and safety risk. This has been proved as nonsense but may still have a total ban. > [@](#): > > A 1973 study found that flower water contained high counts of bacteria. However, subsequent research found no evidence that flower water has ever caused hospital-acquired infection. Yet hospitals continue to prohibit flowers on the ward in the absence of any official ruling from the Department of Health. > > Other negative effects have been ascribed to flowers. In the late 1900s, it was common to remove flowers from bedsides at night as there was widespread belief that the blooms competed for patients’ oxygen. But this was dismissed as a myth when studies showed that the impact of flowers on air composition in wards was negligible and did not justify the labour involved in moving flowers to and fro. > **[Should flowers be banned in hospitals?](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091216203449.htm)** > > Does flower water harbor potentially deadly bacteria? Do bedside blooms compete with patients for oxygen? Do bouquets pose a health and safety risk around medical equipment? These are some of the reasons given by many hospital wards in the UK to ban,... ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/14 "2018-03-02T00:25:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Many hospitals ban or discourage flowers in wards because they used up oxygen or as a health and safety risk. This has been proved as nonsense but may still have a total ban. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/15 "2018-03-02T08:57:40Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > So, at night when houseplants are respirating they are, in fact, suffocating us? … Most plants do release CO2 at night, yes. Not all; some, including air plants and some stuff like cacti and aloes, effectively store the CO2 they produce at night for photosynthesis during the day. They’re known as CAM- Crassulacean Acid Metabolism- plants. I’ve actually found that on labels for air plants “Does not release CO2 into your home!!!” as a marketing plus point :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/16 "2018-03-02T12:48:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **RedSwinglineOne** : > > I vaguely recall that on this board in another thread about space travel, someone said that in a closed system like a spacecraft, if you grow enough plants to eat and survive, the amount of oxygen created by the plants would equal the amount required by the people. More or less, yes, allowing for inefficiencies. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/17 "2018-03-02T14:29:46Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > I vaguely recall that on this board in another thread about space travel, someone said that in a closed system like a spacecraft, if you grow enough plants to eat and survive, the amount of oxygen created by the plants would equal the amount required by the people. > > Feel free to correct me if I remember incorrectly, or if I correctly remember something that was wrong. It’s possible, but you would need a large biomass of plants compared to humans, greatly increasing the size of the ship you would need. One of the big problems experienced by the [Biosphere 2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2) experiment was gradually falling O2 levels. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/18 "2018-03-02T14:47:42Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The other problem - the more house plants you grow, the more time you generally spend combatting plant pests … OH YEAH! Okay, I have to tell this story. I have a large sunken living room with a walk around fireplace and windows completely running down three sides. So, the way I designed it is that I have plants that completely ring the outside of the living room along the windows, and the actual “living room” with the furniture is set inside of that. 1. Now, one of these plants actually is a tree that pretty much reaches the ceiling (which is pretty high because of the sunken living room) and is maybe six feet wide at its widest. 2. I love my fireplace, but I really should close the flue when not in use because you lose heat that way. I usually don’t however, because I burn a log pretty much every evening during the winter season. Try to connect the two before reading on and see if you can predict what happened. LoL Well, one day I got home from work on what was a VERY frigid day and, upon entering the living room, I heard what I was certain was chirping from my one big tree. I then heard some rustling. When I went to spread the branches to see what was going on, what turned out to be seven small birds burst out of the interior and started flying all over the place! Well, suffice it to say that it took me quite a while to maneuver them out the door, and I even had to pursue 3 or 4 of them upstairs and shoo them out the door to my upstairs balcony. During all of this, they were extremely upset and shit all over the place. What a mess! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/19 "2018-03-02T15:29:15Z")
… and a partridge (or 7 of them) in a pear tree! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764/20 "2018-03-02T15:42:49Z")
Back in the day, I worked for a store that sold a lot of houseplants. You’d get a semi trailer backed up to the dock and open it and it was packed full of plants that had been sealed in there for a couple days. The blast of air from the trailer when opened would make you woozy – not incredibly so but enough that you definitely noticed it and other coworkers also commented on it. I always assumed that it was a blast of oxygen from having a trailer packed with plants for three days but, on review of this thread, maybe it was the opposite and we were getting blasted with CO2 from the largely dormant plants in a dark, cool enclosed area. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-houseplants-help-regarding-adding-oxygen-to-your-rooms/809764.md?page=2)