Air Purifying Plants: Four Houseplants That Clean the Air

Clean home air is essential to keeping yourself and your family healthy. While we talk about air purifiers often on this blog, there are also complementary ways for you to improve your home air. One of the best of these is to get some houseplants that clean the air. Believe it or not, having plants in your home can make a large difference when it comes to the quality of the air you breathe. Here’s what you need to know about air purifying plants and some of the best air cleaning plants you can easily keep in your house.

 

  How Do Plants Clean the Air?

 

Like all other life, plants exchange gases with the atmosphere. Unlike animals, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. During this process, they can also capture indoor pollutants and keep them from re-entering the air. The best air purifying plants not only increase the oxygen content of your home air, but also help to keep dangerous contaminants in check. Let’s take a look at some of these air cleaning plants that you can keep in your very own home.

 

  Chrysanthemum

 

A NASA study into common air purifying plants found chrysanthemums to be among the best houseplants that clean the air. These common flowering plants can remove most major indoor pollutants, including formaldehyde, benzene and xylene. They’re also hardy and easy to care for, and certain varieties do well in indoor pots.

 

  Boston Fern

 

Amazing though it may sound, the Boston fern you can pick up for a few dollars at a local grocery store is one of the best plants in the world for removing formaldehyde. This VOC is found in many household products and can have severe health impacts over time. By placing a few hardy Boston ferns around your home, you can help to reduce your exposure to it. For some great tips about caring for Boston ferns and other air purifying plants, check out this useful resource page.

 

  Mother-in-law’s Tongue

 

The varigated snake plant, better known as mother-in-law’s tongue, is a hardy plant that grows well indoors. It is also good at removing xylene and trichloroethylene from the air in your home. If you’re looking for an air purifying plant that’s very easy to care for, this plant may be the one for you.

 

  Peace Lily

 

Rounding out our list of the best air purifying plants is the peace lily. This beautiful flowering plant is great at capturing acetone and benzene, the latter of which is a common carcinogen. As far as houseplants that clean the air go, the peace lily is both one of the most effective and most attractive.

 

  Bonus Plant: Bamboo Palm

 

Since there are so many great air purifying plants for your home, we though we’d add an extra item to this list: the  bamboo palm. These plants, which grow well in indirect sunlight, are quite effective at removing trichloroethylene and benzene from home air. Bamboo palms prefer warm, humid conditions and are great as decorative indoor plants.

 

  Complementing Air Purifying Plants With an Air Purifier

 

These air cleaning plants are great for helping your home to be healthier, but there are still some things they won’t catch, such as bacteria and pollen. For this, you’ll need an air purifier. Using both a high-quality residential air purifier and houseplants in your home can protect you from various gases, eliminate particulates and increase your home’s oxygen content. Together, air purifiers and air purifying plants can complement each other to optimize the quality of the air you breathe daily.

 

Have questions about which air purifier is best for you? Contact us to receive personalized recommendations and answers to all of your home air-related questions. Also, don’t forget to like and follow us through our Facebook page for more great tips about keeping the air in your home healthy and clean.