Now that Spring is finally here most of us are beginning to gear up for that annual deep clean. I know for many of us, clearing out the clutter and finding new organization tips make for the bulk of our to-do’s, but if there is one thing that should be at the top of all our lists – it’s cleaning the air in our homes with houseplants!
Did you know that indoor air quality is among the top 5 environmental public health risks?
You might be asking what sort of things cause Indoor Air Pollution and affect our Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). I wish I could tell you that only a handful of items affect the quality of air inside our homes. Unfortunately, it might as well be the opposite.
Some of the most common items that bring toxins such as, Benzene, Formaldehyde, and Ammonia, into your home are:
- Toilet Paper, Facial Tissue, and Paper Towel
- Cleaning Products, such as Window Cleaners, Floor Cleaners, Disinfectants, and Detergents
- Perfumes, Air Fresheners, and other Fragrances
These are everyday household products!
I don’t know about you, but these are items that my family uses all the time. Daily, in fact.
Good thing this is one of those problems that has a simple solution.
One of the simplest and easiest ways to purify the air in your home is through common houseplants!
We spend most of our weekends going to the Farmer’s Market and our local Nurseries, to prepare for our Vegetable Garden (boy, do we love to garden). Because we live in such a small and poorly lit space we never thought that houseplants would be an option for us. It is amazing the type of things that you can learn from your local experts. I had no idea how many common plants thrive in indoor and low light conditions!
All I had to do was ask!
Now our home is full of beautiful plants that I love (as is my Instagram).
I particularly love the kinds of plants that are easy to care for and don’t call for much maintenance. Not only are they a great way to bring the outdoors in, the fact that most work double duty to clean and purify the air you and your family breathe make them a no brainer! Plus some of these double duty plants even work overtime to help improve your quality of sleep too!
30 houseplants that detoxify the air inside your home
- Peace Lily
- Florist’s Chrysanthemum
- English Ivy
- Snake Plant
- Red-Edge Dracaena
- Lily Turf
- Devil’s Ivy
- Flamingo Lily
- Broadleaf Lady Palm
- Cornstalk Dracaena
- Barberton Daisy
- Janet Craig
- Dwarf Date Palm
- Areca Palm
- Boston Fern
- Kimberly Queen Fern
- Spider Plant
- Chinese Evergreen
- Bamboo Palm
- Weeping Fig
- Aloe Vera
- Heartleaf Philodendron
- Selloum Philodendron
- Elephant Ear Philodendron
- Rubber Plant
- Dendrobium Orchids
- Dumb Canes
- King of Hearts
- Moth Orchids
- Banana Plant
According to the NASA Clean Air Study and B.C. Wolverton, having one of the above plants per 100sq feet of your home or office is best for effectively removing a number of toxins from the air.
Did you know that most of the plants listed above are considered to be Tropical Plants and thrive surprisingly well in reduce or low light conditions, making them perfect household plants? You do need to keep in mind that many plants are considered toxic to both small children and pets. So it is always best to check with your local nursery before bringing any plants home.
Do you have any favorite household plants?
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Whoa!!!! Ok, first of all, mortified that something like toilet paper could be releasing toxins in my home. But second of all, how cool that plans can help purify?! SUPER informative post – thanks for sharing!
Plants are pretty much amazing. I started looking into this topic because of that video that was floating around facebook with the 10 best plants to help improve sleep (plus a local nursery had set up a display of these plants). I was so surprised to find out exactly how many toxins were flying around in the air inside our homes. The more I researched the more interested I became and I just had to share the information I collected. I think I am going to have to continue to write plant posts! haha. So happy to hear that you found this helpful!
I knew about some of these but learned a lot!
Glad I could help! 🙂
It’s scary the amount of toxins that are all around us. I had no idea so many plants could purify the air like that!
There are an amazing amount of plants that help clean the air. What I love about this list though, is that most of them thrive indoors and low light conditions which make them great beginner plants!