With summer coming we have bunches of sweet pea flowers with their beautiful fragrence in our home. I remember as a child that I was told not to leave fragrent flowers in the bedroom overnight, but I don't know why?
harrislucinda,
Nov 26, 2:56pm
flowers draw oxygen out of the rooms thats why hospital dont allow flowers in wards now
starseeker,
Nov 26, 3:28pm
That is an old wives' tale
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 26, 4:58pm
I sleep with flowers by my bed most nights. I like the perfume. And my house is a jungle - so I checked :
The value of the flowers perfume as a relaxant (aromatherapy) would far outweigh the infinitesimal amount of oxygen they might possibly consume.
Enjoy them! I currently have Chinese Star Jasmine and Gardenias wafting their charms around, and both much stronger overnight, and am just loving it. And soon will come the sweet scent of plumerias (Frangipani), and other delights.
junie2,
Nov 26, 5:54pm
A nurse recently told me that when hospitals ban flowers on the wards it's because some patients may be allergic/reactive to pollen - nothing to do with oxygen.
merrigj,
Nov 27, 2:10am
Plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. That statement couldn't be further from the truth.
lythande1,
Nov 27, 2:16am
The belief is fairly entrenched, and it goes back a good ways. The urban-legend experts at Snopes have traced it back to 1923 in print form, and it most likely spread via word of mouth long before that [source: Snopes]. The myth goes like this: Flowers are bad for hospital rooms because they suck oxygen out of the air. And sick people need their oxygen.
It's true that while plants typically absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, that process changes at night. At night, plants absorb more oxygen than they produce, and they emit carbon dioxide.
So, flowers are bad, right?
In fact, flowers add far more oxygen to a hospital room than they use. In daytime, plants emit 10 times more oxygen than they use up at night, so a hospital room with flowers in it will actually end up more oxygenated than one without [source: Snopes]. And a study published in the journal International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health in 1977 showed that even at night, plants only altered oxygen and CO2 levels in hospital wards by about 1.5 percent -- a negligible amount, in terms of air composition [source: Gale].
It's especially negligible when you consider that a human being, such as the sick person lying in the bed in the hospital room, uses up about 2.5 cubic feet (71 liters) of oxygen in an hour, while a pound of foliage sucks up about 0.026 gallons (0.1 liters) in that same time period. It would make far more sense to ban oxygen-sucking visitors than to ban flowers.
never mind flowers. how do you think people got on living in jungles? They would have gone extinct in 1 night.
Bit of common sense really.
docsportello,
Nov 27, 2:35am
Pea beetles will attack you in the night and carry away your soul aiyeeee!
lovelurking,
Nov 27, 2:51am
It’s because of allergies as already explained by junie2.
We can’t have any flowers in our house. Lilies are especially bad.
harrislucinda,
Nov 27, 3:08am
ok knew it was something not a expert yes about that flowers in wards that will be right about the pollen so stuff up that thread didnt I
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 27, 3:38am
The pollen thing could be overcome with a quick snip. Most florists do lilies as a matter of course because their pollen stains - but any flower can be depollenated (sic) if it lets an allergy sufferer gets the pleasure of flowers in their life.
And pleasure is important for health.
merrigj,
Nov 27, 4:03am
No not at all started a good discussion.
samanya,
Nov 27, 7:34am
Hi junie . that makes sense.
lythande1,
Nov 27, 8:33am
Wonder I'm not dead already. The flowers outside my window, not to mention the neighbors Jasmine weed. I wake up to that smell, I walk outside and it smacks me in the nose, it's so strong. LOL, just as well it's a lovely smell.
oh_hunnihunni,
Nov 27, 9:48am
I'm growing that weed in a pot, on my deck, for that very reason. Nothing 'legal' is quite as lovely imo.
mustang666,
Nov 27, 10:01am
A nurse told me it was because bacteria breeds in the water.
eljayv,
Feb 7, 1:48am
Try having an aloe Vera plant instead, or as well, and improve the air in a bedroom at night
“Listed as one of NASA's top air-improving plants, the fantastic Aloe works much like the Snake Plant – it emits oxygen at night, making for a more restful slumber. . You can also use the gel from the Aloe Vera leaves as a topical treatment for minor cuts and burns, insect bites, dry skin and lots more! “
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