We have many houseplants – I don’t think you can ever have enough!
Houseplants are proven air cleaners. They add oxygen, regulate humidity, filter out toxins, and beautify your space. I believe they add positive life energy to a home, and help children learn about caring for living things.
NASA did a study on houseplants and indoor air pollution. Certain plants are able to remove dangerous chemicals from the air like trichloroethylene, benzene, & and formaldehyde!
Read NASA’s findings on interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement.
Based on that study, here are my recommendations for best air cleaners:
Top chemical removers:
Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
Marginata (Dracaena marginata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum “Mauna Loa”)*
Janet Craig (Dracaena deremensis)
Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifritzii)
Mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)*
Mother-in-law’s Tongue (Sansevieria laurentii)*
Other great air cleaners:
English Ivy (Hedera helix)**
Golden Pothos (Scindapsus aureus)*
Chinese Evergreen (Aglonema modestum)
Green Spider Plant (Cholorphytum elatum)
Heart leaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)*
Ficus (Ficus benjamina)
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)*
*NOTE: I find it interesting that many of the aforementioned plants are considered toxic– particularly when ingested. I wonder if this is partially because they are so good at absorbing (and thus, perhaps harboring) chemicals? I have marked the toxic plants with a star * in the event that you have small children or pets. Those with two stars ** are particularly toxic, and I definitely do not recommend for households with small children or pets who could consume the leaves.
For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for pets, please see the ASPCA’s page.
For a list of toxic & non-toxic plants for children, please see the National Poison Control center’s page
That being said, all plants have the ability to clean air. If you are uncomfortable with keeping any plants in your house known to have some toxicity, I’ve compiled a list of common non-toxic houseplants (not listed above). Now, while these specific plants may not have been studied to show the ability to drastically reduce toxic chemicals, they will still do their job cleaning your air & beautifying your environment while being safer to have around children & pets:
African Violet (Episcia reptans)
Begonia (Begonia sp.)
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exalta)
Christmas Cactus (Zygocactus truncatus)
Hoya (Hoya sp.)
Jade Plant (Crassula argentes)
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe sp.)
Lipstick Plant (Aeschynanthus lobbianus) – this is a favorite!
Peperomia (Peperomia sp.)
Ponytail Palm (Beaucarenia recurvata)
Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)
Wandering Jew (Tradescantia albiflora)
For a list of hundreds of houseplants with description, photo, and care instructions, check out this site.
Which houseplants are your favorites? Please let me know!