Plants to Help Clean Indoor Air

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Did you know that studies are showing that indoor air is generally more toxic then outdoor air? That is pretty amazing when you consider all the cars, construction sites, and factories that are outdoors.

That alone is a good enough reason why we need to clean indoor air but there are actually many reasons to think about clean indoor air!

In order to attempt to keep my home’s indoor air quality decent, I have gotten into the habit of opening our windows at least once a day. If the weather is nice then the windows will stay open all day.

Besides airing out your home, there is another way of purifying your air. Plants!

NASA did a 2 year study on plants abilities to purify air. In this study they focused on three main chemicals: Formaldehyde, Benzene, 18and Trichloroethylene.

Here’s how there three chemicals can make their way into your home:
Formaldehyde: cleaning chemicals, particleboard, and foam insulations.
Benzene: A common solvent in oils and paints and can also be found in plastics and rubber.
Trichloroethylene: Used in paints, inks, adhesives, and varnishes.

While some plants are better at removing some chemicals then others. However, all these plants listed were found to do a great job of improving indoor air quality.

18 Plants to Help Clean Indoor Air

• English Ivy (Hedera helix)

• Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

• Golden Pothos (Scindapsus aures or Epipremnum aureum)

• Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’)

• Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)

• Bamboo Palm or Reed Palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)

• Snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Laurentii’)

• Heart Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Philodendron cordatum)

• Selloum Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum)

• Elephant Ear Philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)

• Red-edged Dracaena (Dracaena marginata)

• Cornstalk Dracaena (Dracaena fragans ‘Massangeana’)

• Janet Craig Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Janet Craig’)

• Warneck Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis ‘Warneckii’)

• Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)

• Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)

• Pot Mum (Chrysantheium morifolium)

• Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

NASA also recommended that for a home under 2,000 square feet that a variety of 15-18 plants should be used. Yes, that’s quite a lot of plants!

The next time I find some extra cash around, I plan on picking up some plants!

NOTE: Some of these plants are toxic to children and pets so make sure to check out the plant you want before buying it.

Here are even more ways to clean the air in your home!