Air-purifying house plants

Houseplants release blood-enriching oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.

Some of the houseplants cleanse indoor air of chemicals.  Research done by NASA identified houseplants that reduce the concentration of common toxic agents in the air. Plus, most are easy to maintain and can flourish in low sunlight.

The NASA clean air study claims that efficient air cleaning is accomplished with at least 1-2 plants per 100 sq.ft. for home or office space.

Chemicals found indoors and purified by the plants:

  • Ammonia
    • Used in cleaning products
    • Contributes to respiratory issues
  • Formaldehyde
    • Preservative in products such as art supplies, nail polish, candles; used in building materials (plywood, fiberboard), glues, paints, vinyl flooring
    • Found to cause viral infections, allergies, impaired learning, changes in behavior
  • Benzene
    • Industrial chemical used in plastics, glues, paints, rubbers, detergents
    • Found to be irritating to the skin and eyes; respiratory tract  and  nervous system issues
  • Trichloroethylene
    • Solvent used to clean metal, used in paint removals, printing inks
    • Found to have harmful effects on nervous system, respiratory system, liver, kidneys and blood.

The best air-purifying house plants:

Peace Lily

Spider Plant

Snake Plant

Aloe Vera

Boston Fern

Garden mum or Florist’s Chrysanthemum

English Ivy

Cornstock Dracaena

Red-edged Dracaena

Flamingo Lily

Devil’s Ivy

Chinese Evergreen

Peace lily
Spider Plant
Aloe Vera

Some more recognized to be the best in greening your air also include:

  • Bamboo palm or Reed palm
  • Heartfleaf philodendron
  • Selloum philoderndron
  • Elephant ear philodendron
  • Janet Craig dracaena
  • Waneck dracaena
  • Weeping fig
  • Garbera daisy or Barberton daisy
  • Rubber plant
  • Weeping fig
  • Money plant

Sources:

    1. “Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement.” NASA (1989) https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073077.pdf
    2. 9 Air-Cleaning Houseplants That Are Almost Impossible to Kill. https://greatist.com/connect/houseplants-that-clean-air/amp
    3. Top 10 House Plants for Clean Indoor Air. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/house-plants-for-clean-indoor-air/
    4. Public Health Statement for Formaldehyde (2008)  https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/phs/phs.asp?id=218&tid=39
    5. Medical Management Guidelines for Benzene https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mmg/mmg.asp?id=35&tid=14
    6. ATSDR Toxzine Tichloroethylene https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/toxzine/docs/trichloroethylene_toxzine.pdf
    7. “Healthy Child Healthy World” by Meryl Streep.