Sales have doubled for some garden centers over the last year due to the increased number of people staying at home. Everyone is starting to wise up to the wonderful benefits of owning house plants.
For starters, they look great and can improve mental and physical health. Plants give people something to care for, to motivate them, and they also have air-purifying qualities, too.
But there are better plants for cleaning indoor air than others. Not sure what they are? Don’t worry, these are some of the best indoor plants to improve the air in your home and your respiratory health.
1. Snake Plant
Snake plants are the most well-known plants for cleaning indoor air thanks to NASA’s clean air study in the 1980s. They stated that snake plants remove formaldehyde, xylene, benzene, toluene, and trichloroethylene.
These plants can filter carbon dioxide and produce oxygen in an air-tight room well enough for at least one person to continue to breathe as normal.
Getting a snake plant is also ideal if you want a low-maintenance house plant. They can live in both low light and direct sunlight. Their soil needs to dry out before watering, and even in summer they only need watering around once every two weeks.
Snake plants can live in most temperatures as long as it is not freezing. They are toxic to people and pets so they might not be the best option if you have animals or young children.
2. Spider Plant
Caring for a spider plant is not only easy but has plenty of air-purifying benefits too. Spider plants can remove carbon monoxide, xylene, formaldehyde, and toluene from the air. Toluene is an irritant found in crude oil so it’s a good idea to have a plant that removes it.
Spider plants also look cool (their leaves resemble spider legs) and are non-toxic. You couldn’t ask for more in a house plant!
Place a spider plant next to a window so it has lots of bright, indirect sun. They need watering twice a week at first, then only once a week as they grow. These plants like their soil kept a little moist but not drenched.
You can likely find all types of spider plants at garden centers like Franz Witte or Armstrong Garden Centers.
3. Aloe Vera Succulent
Having an aloe vera plant will help remove the two most toxic chemicals found in cleaning products – benzene and formaldehyde – from your home.
Since aloe vera is a type of succulent, it is a very easy plant to care for though it is toxic to people and pets.
Because they are native to dry climates, aloe veras need as much sun as possible. It is a good idea to reposition the plant now and again so sunlight hits the entire plant. Aloe vera plants need infrequent watering (no more than every two weeks) and the soil needs to be bone dry before doing so.
4. Peace Lily
The peace lily plant is a favorite amongst house plant lovers. It’s pretty and it removes toxic gases like benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide from the air. Peace lilies are toxic plants so keep that in mind.
Peace lilies are the perfect plant for brightening up dark corners as they are happy living in low or indirect sunlight. It is also an easy plant to water, as its leaves will droop when it is thirsty. Many people find they only need to water their peace lily every one or two weeks.
They also thrive in most temperatures and levels of humidity.
5. Boston Fern
Like snake plants, Boston ferns can also remove formaldehyde and xylene from the air. Processed paper materials like paper bags produce the former and vehicle exhausts produce the latter.
So, you do not want to be breathing either of those chemicals!
Boston ferns are also great for people with kids or pets because they are non-toxic plants.
Boston ferns like to live in bright rooms out of direct sunlight. They love humid places like bathrooms and kitchens or, if this isn’t an option, misting them will work too. This type of fern needs watering every week so its soil remains moist but not wet.
6. Chinese Evergreen
Want more ideas for tropical and colorful plants for cleaning indoor air? Check out a Chinese evergreen. These plants can filter out benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the air in your home.
It is a toxic plant so place it out of reach of babies or fur babies are around. But it is a beautiful plant with red outlines on its leaves.
Chinese evergreens need to dry out a little between waterings, but not too much. Light is not as important as humidity, as they like a warm room.
7. Bamboo Palm
If you have room for a three to six-foot bamboo palm, you could reap some serious air conditioning benefits from this plant. They can remove formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide, xylene, and chloroform from your air.
Yes, even chloroform, which is sometimes found in swimming pools and wastewater. Bamboo palms are non-toxic but they can grow toxic berries.
Bamboo palm plants need watering whenever the soil feels dry. And they need frequent repotting so they can grow to their full potential.
8. English Ivy Hanging Plant
English ivy plants are unique in that they help get rid of mold, like humidifiers. It is a little toxic, so anyone handling this plant needs to wear gloves. These plants look great hung from bookshelves as they are crawling plants.
They love moisture and like being well-watered and misted. Misting an English ivy plant will help keep the spider mites away, too. They thrive in bright rooms away from the window and at average room temperatures.
Don’t be afraid to prune an English ivy hanging plant if its size is getting out of control.
Choose the Best Plants for Cleaning Indoor Air
If you are going to fill your home with house plants and create your own urban jungle, you may as well choose the best plants for cleaning indoor air.
These plants will not only look great wherever you put them in your home, but they will give you a better quality of life, too.
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