The houseplants in your Delaware home can greatly improve the air quality of your residence, so it is important to keep them alive and healthy during colder seasons. Damage to your indoor plants in winter can result from the season’s fewer hours of sunlight, and the dry air created from your furnace requires that you devote extra care to your plants. There are several ways you can nurture your houseplants in winter while still using your central heating to keep residents in your home warm when temperatures dip.
PROTECTING HOUSEPLANTS FROM DIRECT HEATING
Direct heated airflow from central heating can negatively affect the houseplants in your Delaware home, particularly if you have positioned your plants near your air ducts. Hot air may dry out your houseplants, requiring you to water them more often. If you notice in winter that your plants’ leaves wilt more than usual, or the edges of the leaves feel crispy to the touch, try moving your houseplants to a cooler area in the house, which may be a room in which you are not running your central heating.
USING CENTRAL HEATING ON SEEDLINGS
Germinating houseplant seedlings can benefit from the warmth of central heating, which can promote plant growth. However, direct hot airflow from your air vents, as well as the lower humidity in that heated air, can be harsh and damaging when the heat directly hits the plants. An excellent way to use central heating to warm your seedlings without allowing direct air exposure to your plants is to place your houseplants on shelving installed above your air vents, which allows the heated air to gently drift up and warm the seedlings.
INCREASING HUMIDITY TO PROTECT PLANTS
The air from central heating in your Delaware home may be dry and lack moisture, and many houseplants need higher humidity levels to thrive. Summer humidity levels in your residence tend to register between 40-60%, but the heated air from central heating usually has a humidity level between 10-39%. Keep your houseplants hydrated in winter by running a humidifier and frequently misting plant leaves with temperate water from a spray bottle.
Many houseplants benefit from higher room temperatures, but direct airflow from your central heating system’s air vents can damage your indoor plants. Keeping your houseplants away from your air vents is an important step in protecting plant leaves from excessive heat and dry air. Provide extra hydration to the plants in your Delaware home by watering them more frequently, misting their leaves with water from a spray bottle, and using a humidifier to add moisture to the air in your house this winter.
Indoor plants can improve the air quality in your Delaware home, so make sure that your central heating system’s air ducts are clean and don’t circulate dust and other debris throughout your residence. The skilled HVAC technicians of First Class HVAC have been providing expert duct cleaning services for residents of Delaware and Maryland’s Delmarva area for over 40 years. Contact us today to learn about our Rotobrush aiR+R air duct cleaning system and improve the air quality in your home.