How To Clean The Air With Houseplants

Now’s the time of year when we start turning our efforts to projects inside our homes. Here at Anderson’s, we would like to humbly suggest that you consider the addition of one or two (or three) houseplants. But not just because they’re pretty. Did you know that a Boston Fern in your home can have an impact on the air you’re breathing? In fact, you can choose plants that can actually clean the air in and around your home and office.

Wow. Deep breath, right?

How do we know this? NASA (that’s right, NASA) conducted a Clean Air Study with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America in 1989, and found that plants can play a major role in removing organic chemicals from indoor air. That includes toxins and pollutants such as formaldehyde, benzene, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia and other stuff you just don’t want to be breathing.

Here’s a partial list of “clean air” plants:

• Aloe • As the air-cleaning expert, one pot of aloe is equivalent to nine biological air cleaners. When the number of toxins in the air have exceeded healthy amounts, the leaves on the aloe become spotted, signaling for help.
• Dwarf Date Palm
• Boston Fern
• Kimberley Queen Fern
• Spider Plant • Easy to take care of, one spider plant is able to effectively filter a room of 200 square feet.
• Chinese Evergreen
• Bamboo Palm • This is good at removing formaldehyde, and can help restore some of the moisture in your home if it’s dry.
• Weeping Fig
• Devil’s Ivy
• Flamingo Lily
• Lilyturf • Used indoor or outdoor, this evergreen plant can protect your from formaldehyde and ammonia.
• Broadleaf Lady Palm • While this palm can get big, it’s quite effective at soaking up formaldehyde and ammonia from the air.
• Barberton Daisy
• Cornstalk Dracaena
• English Ivy • Ivy has been shown to reduce 60% of airborne mold after being placed in a room for only six hours.
• Variegated Snake Plant • Snake plants aid in removing toxins from the air and require little to no lighting.
• Red-Edged Dracaena
• Peace Lily • This lily can help keep your air free of ammonia, formaldehyde, benzene trichloroethylene, xylene and toluene, making it one of the most comprehensive indoor air-cleaning plants you can choose.
• Rubber Plant • A rubber plant excels at removing toxins from the air, particularly formaldehyde; the oxygen output of a rubber plant is higher than most other indoor plants, allowing it to purify more air in less time.

If you have questions about these or want to know more, don’t hesitate to ask us here at Anderson’s. Plants are our business and our passion, and we can help you make smart choices for your healthy home and garden. And doesn’t knowing you have a friend like that help you breathe a little easier?

Love, Andersons.