Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

Doug
I had no idea ozone was so bad.
WHY would you buy an "air purifier" that produces it???
From your link:-

How Does "Bad" Ozone Affect Human Health and the Environment?

Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. "Bad" ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.

Healthy people also experience difficulty breathing when exposed to ozone pollution. Because ozone forms in hot weather, anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer may be affected, particularly children, outdoor workers and people exercising. Millions of Americans live in areas where the national ozone health standards are exceeded.

Ground-level or "bad" ozone also damages vegetation and ecosystems. It leads to reduced agricultural crop and commercial forest yields, reduced growth and survivability of tree seedlings, and increased susceptibility to diseases, pests and other stresses such as harsh weather. In the United States alone, ground-level ozone is responsible for an estimated $500 million in reduced crop production each year. Ground-level ozone also damages the foliage of trees and other plants, affecting the landscape of cities, national parks and forests, and recreation areas

.
yet from asite that sells them

Portable Home Ozone Air Purifiers

Portable ozone air purifiers reduce indoor bacteria, allergy, asthma, hay fever, home respiratory problems, mold source, odors, pollutants, pollution. Control air contaminates like bacteria, bad odor, formaldehyde, germs, pathogens, virus. Indoor pollution, common problems everywhere.

Portable Home Ozone Air Purifiers
another product
Ozone generator systems
and from the la times

State bans home ozone air purifiers

By Janet Wilson
September 28, 2007 in print edition B-1

The California Air Resources Board on Thursday banned popular in-home ozone air purifiers, saying studies have found that they can worsen conditions such as asthma that marketers claim they help to prevent.

State bans home ozone air purifiers - Los Angeles Times

Yet this firm seems to be selling something different. I don't know what but they quote NSW Department of Health warning

News

The NSW Department of Health Warns Against using air purifiers containing Ionisers, ozone generators and electronic air cleaners due to the hazardous output of toxic ozone associated with these devices….

"Importantly, electronic air cleaners such as electrostatic precipitators and ionizers can produce ozone as a by-product." Read more about the dangers of ozone

Home Air Purifier Indoor Commercial Air Purifiers HEPA Filters

Still when plants can do all this why bother increasing your electricity bill?
.................................................. ..
Maikeru
I have a flowering Ivy that has yellow daisy like flowers. I have been surprised how well it is doing on a shady balcony. I haven't been game to bring it indoors yet, but you inspire me to do so.

How much light does the banana need? They grow in people's gardens around here. They cost a fortune in nurseries but i should be able to score a free plant somewhere. Many chefs use the leaves in cooking.

Pineapples are cheap at the moment so I have just planted a couple of pineapple tops and will see how they go. Other bromilliads are thriving in very low light indoors.

EDIT
some of you might know by now I am having some PH proplems in my garden
So I looked up the bromilliad society web page to find out what they liked
and serendipity found:-

from the Journal of the
Bromeliad Society, September-October 2002,
v.52 (5), p.226. Charcoal is used in certain
bromeliad potting mixes e.g. those based on
cymbidium orchid mixes. However, it could
be used more widely. It can be bought at
some orchid nurseries.
When I was a young man, one of my
memories of helping my late father with his
cacti in his large glasshouse, was the way he
always included charcoal in his potting mixes.
Up until recently, I always thought the idea
of this was to help drainage of the potting mix,
but a small article in one of my father’s cactus
books told me otherwise.
In the days of wood fires, charcoal was
plentiful, and the benefit to potting mixes was
well recognized. It appears that as our wood
fires have disappeared from the scene, so has
the use of charcoal, yet its benefits are still
there.
It should be noted that charcoal has no
food value in itself. However, it does have
several important uses for plants and potting
mixes. One of the most important is that it
acts like a magnet and a sponge collecting
and conserving ammonia. This remarkable
function is one of the marvels of science yet
no one has been able to explain why. If pieces
of charcoal are in the soil, roots will cling to
them to absorb the collected ammonia.
When organic fertilizer decomposes,
one of the first products given off by the bacteria
is ammonia gas. This gas is extremely
volatile and easily escapes, but if a grain of
charcoal lies next to a grain of fertilizer, it
will absorb 80 times its own bulk in ammonia
ammonia
and will hold it, a trait that plant roots
utilize. It is the ammonia-forming capacity of
bone meal, fish meal, natural manure, compost
and other such organic fertilizers that we
pay for, and the gas should not be allowed
to escape.
Charcoal has other equally valuable
properties. It is the world’s most perfect purifier.
It acts as a continuous factory for the
destruction of injurious acids. Whenever evil
organic gases are given off, charcoal will absorb
the odor. A sprinkling of charcoal over
the compost heap will not only prevent odor
but will conserve ammonia. After purchasing
the charcoal, break it into half-inch pieces by
placing it on a large piece of plastic and breaking
it with a hammer. Further benefits that
plants receive by incorporating charcoal in
your potting mixes include: I) It checks damping
off of seedlings; 2) When cuttings are
started in water it encourages root growth and
keeps the water fresh;
3) Charcoal in potting mixes also sweetens the soil and saves fertilizer;
4) Last, but not least, it helps to open
up the potting mix as well as helping in the
drainage.
If you are now using Perlite in your
potting mix why not substitute some of it with
some small pieces of charcoal?

http://www.bromsqueensland.com/pdf/Jul-Aug_2006.pdf

What does "sweetens the soil" mean. You often hear this said.

Perhaps we do need a hypog garden forum or at least aclub