19 Houseplants That Clean Indoor Air

19 Houseplants That Clean Indoor Air. Photo – © Meliha Gojak – Fotolia.com (under license)

If you were to ask most people where they thought the highest risk from polluted air was – most people would answer that it would be by a busy road, or near a smoke-belching factory, or some other urban environment.

Most would not answer “in the home”.

Now the home might not necessarily contain the most polluted air of all – but part of the problem is that people spend a great deal of time indoors, meaning greater exposure to whatever might be in the air.

Also, in the modern age of energy saving, advanced insulation has become a major goal – and many modern homes are quite well sealed; meaning that if there are pollutants in the air, they stay around for longer.

We are typically surrounded by manufactured synthetic products, many of which are known to “off gas” – gradually exuding toxic volatile chemicals such as benzene or formaldehyde. The EPA has stated that indoor air quality is one of the top 5 risks to public health.

NASA did some fascinating research into whether plants could clean indoor air, when they were researching the whole notion of living in space. They discovered that several plants were in fact extremely beneficial to air quality, and “filter” the air through their photosynthesis process.

We found a great article which lists the top 19 houseplants for cleaning indoor air, together with much further information and even growing tips! Here is the link:

https://sustainablebabysteps.com/types-of-houseplants.html

Have you noticed any indoor air benefits from houseplants? Let us know. I’m feeling inspired to make my own indoor jungle…. 🙂

PET SAFETY NOTE Some plants are toxic to pets such as cats and dogs. Be sure to cross reference any indoor plants against lists of plants safe for pets. i.e. https://aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/ You should probably check through this list anyway if you have pets – especially if your pets like to try to eat things!