Discover the top 5 air purifying plants that aid in the removal of pollutants
Studies have shown that hospital patients recover faster when they have a view of greenery, to research demonstrating that care home residents' happiness levels are significantly elevated when given a house plant, to NASA's Clean Air Study which tests indoor plants' ability to eliminate toxins successfully.
Chemicals are used in many products in our homes. You breathe in toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from flooring, electronics, and many other products. It's good to know that you can use air purifying plants in your living area, bathroom, and even bedroom to clean the air. What plants can remove toxins and clean the air?
1. Spider Plant (Chlorophytum elatum)
Caring for this plant is super easy and has plenty of air-purifying benefits. The air can be purified by spider plants by removing carbon monoxide, xylene, formaldehyde, and toluene. It would be advantageous to have a plant that removes toluene, which is an irritant found in crude oil.
We are probably all familiar with this house plant. It thrives in low light conditions, is extremely easy to propagate, and removes many toxins from the air while continuing to release oxygen all night long. It looks great on top of furniture or hung from the ceiling, with its arching leaves and trailing stems of 'baby' spider plants adding a graceful touch of greenery to a corner.
2. Snake Plant (Sansevieria laurentii)
The best option to have in the bedroom. Thanks to NASA's clean air study, snake plants are most well-known for cleaning indoor air. According to their research, snake plants are capable of removing formaldehyde, xylene, benzene, toluene, and trichloroethylene. In an airtight room, these plants can filter carbon dioxide and produce oxygen well enough for at least one person to breathe normally.
Snake plants are also ideal if you want a low-maintenance house plant. They can live in both low light and direct sunlight. Watering is only necessary once every two weeks even in summer when the soil has dried out.
3. Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis)
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 animals. Because they are native to dry climates, aloe vera need as much sun as possible. It is a good idea to reposition the plant now and again so sunlight hits the entire plant.
4. English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Works like humidifiers to get rid of mold. People handling this plant should wear gloves because it is somewhat toxic. Due to their crawling nature, these plants look great hung from shelves. They prefer moist conditions and like to be well-watered and sprayed. They like bright, open rooms away from windows and at average room temperatures.
5. Devil’s Ivy (Epipremnum aureum)
The heart-shaped leaves of Devil's ivy (pothos) have been found to absorb toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde and xylene from the surrounding environment. In a low-light environment, gold pothos can be grown in a vine-like fashion indoors.
If you want to purify your indoor air, you can place it next to a window in your living room or bedroom. It also needs well-drained soil with high organic matter content. One of pothos' biggest disadvantages is its toxic nature to cats, which can cause severe symptoms like swelling, skin irritation, difficulty swallowing, and vomiting.
Make sure your air purifying plants are safe for your cats and dogs before you choose them. To avoid the risk of plant poisoning, it's best not to have any dangerous plants near areas where dogs and cats walk and play.
It's true that plants increase oxygen levels in the home and clean the air, but how many plants does it take to effectively clean the air? Researchers have discovered that indoor plants filter very little toxins. It is important to have a good number of air-filtering plants in your house in order to achieve significant air purification.
More plants mean more harmful chemicals will be removed from the air. Grow as many English ivy and snake plants as you can since they have the best surface area to air purification ratio.
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