Live plants always look nice but there are many benefits of placing them throughout a building. Facilities that lack indoor plants may want to consider adding them. Here’s why…
Air Quality is key to a healthy indoor space!
As many facility managers already know, poor indoor air quality is a risk to public health. Therefore, maintaining a healthy indoor air quality level is critical to facility maintenance. Air quality is a concern for all buildings including hospitals and medical facilities, schools, business offices, theaters, apartment complexes, nursing homes, fitness centers, retails stores, groceries, and restaurants. Those using these public spaces deserve clean air so they don’t get sick from breathing in toxins that are inevitably floating about.
Maintaining plants throughout an indoor space will lower levels of known irritants that can cause sickness. According to the American Chemical Society, “Indoor air pollution is an important environmental threat to human health …But researchers report that surrounding oneself with certain house plants could combat the potentially harmful effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a main category of these pollutants.” Furthermore, “VOCs are compounds like acetone, benzene and formaldehyde that are emitted as gases and can cause short- and long-term health effects when inhaled. They can come from paints, furniture, copiers and printers, cleaning supplies and even dry-cleaned clothes.”
Placing indoor plants throughout a building is a great way to improve air quality but they have many other benefits!
Some added benefits of indoor plants include reduced levels of carbon dioxide, reducing dust, and even reducing background noise. Because many office environments can tend to lack character (cubicles, white or gray color schemes, boring environments, etc.) many workers will even notice a calming affect plants tend to create which can reduce stress! Happy customers and employees are easier to work with and are more productive. If the simple addition of indoor plants creates a more pleasant environment, what facility manager wouldn’t want to take advantage?
Adding the right plants, in the right places and maintaining them the right way matters!
If your facility decides to place indoor plants throughout, knowing what types of plants match the space is critical. Most indoor plants need minimal light but it’s very important to know what each plant needs to stay healthy. Plants that are not maintained will not look good and in the long run will be detrimental. It’s in the best interests of the building to make sure that the appropriate type(s) of plants are selected for the space. They must be watered regularly and placed in areas where they’ll get adequate light.
What types of plants will best improve the space? Where should the plants be placed to maximize their effect? How should the plants be maintained and how often, for example, do they need to be watered or fertilized? Is the pot the right size and is the soil healthy? Because every facility is different, there is no single solution for these questions. Hiring a knowledgeable and professional company to manage indoor plants is always the best option when it comes to indoor plant maintenance.
While different types of facilities need different solutions, one this is certain; indoor plants will improve the quality of a facility for those using it. Maintaining indoor plants will always contribute to the health of a facility.