Comment by wyclif

Comment by wyclif 2 days ago

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I don't have any scented products in my house. Ventilation is key, especially in common areas like the living room. You should open the window occasionally even in the dead of winter to help circulate the air.

Some other things I do are regular vacuuming and dusting; you might be surprised how effective this can be in freshening the air naturally. Dust can trap odors and make a room smell stale if not removed often.

It also helps to clean soft surfaces frequently, because fabric traps odors.

Abundant houseplants help naturally purify the air. Activated charcoal in discreet places absorbs odors without adding any scent.

Unscented products like vinegar or baking soda work well for carpet and upholstery (the vinegar smell dissipates quickly).

dkdbejwi383 2 days ago

> Abundant houseplants help naturally purify the air.

apparently the effect is grossly overstated. You'd need to cram the place (in all dimensions) so tightly with plants there'd be no room for humans or furniture of any kind for any appreciable difference.

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  • marcosdumay 2 days ago

    The GP is not talking about removing CO2 from the air.

    Even though no, it's not as simple as they put it, plants do remove particles from the air, humidify it, and emit plenty of stuff on their own (what may or may not be good). You don't need a lot of them to have a large impact.

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    • wyclif a day ago

      That is correct. I was trying to make a basic statement. We should be careful not to make excessive claims about the benefits of houseplants, but generally speaking I think they are a benefit.

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  • tpxl 2 days ago

    Given that the planet is not crammed in all dimensions so tightly there'd be no room for humans, and yet we have fresh air outside, I'm doubting your statement a bit.

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    • red-iron-pine 2 days ago

      1) the planet is a big, BIG place and there are rainforests and oceans. Like, all of the air that we breathe originally started from ocean life.

      and 2) there have been studies on this done by NASA, et al, and the general consensus was you need a lot of plants

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      • Retric 2 days ago

        1) humans aren’t the only thing consuming oxygen outside. Bugs, cows, fish, etc add up. Similarly there’s a lot of empty land and sea without significant plankton.

        The actual issue is plants consume oxygen at night without grow lamps. You can make a meaningful difference in indoor CO2 levels during the day with plants in a large home, but they end up making things worse at night.

        Thus plants are likely better in an office environment than in the home.

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    • Cthulhu_ 2 days ago

      The planet is a bit larger than a house though.

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hinkley 2 days ago

Vacuums don’t capture all of the dust they stir up. When you can, vacuum with the windows open.

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