A breath of fresh air is all you need to feel better and using the right plant you can have good, healthy air in your home. Plants in the house do more than make it a pleasant atmosphere, they also clean the air of toxins that come in from outdoors.
Believe it or not, your home is loaded with scents, toxins, and very dirty air. It doesn't matter if you have the air conditioner running or not, the air quality in most homes is not good. Purifying the air with an air filter just doesn't get all the bacteria, viruses, and toxins from the air. However, if you use plants you'll have better air quality than a deserted island.
Here are the best 18 plants you can use in your home to have a better quality of air, keeping you and your family healthy year around. All these plants are easy to grow and don't require much time or space. Just water, fertilizer once a month, and watch them purify your air.
Gerber Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
Normally in bloom in the spring, Gerber daisy removes trichloroethylene from dry cleaning chemicals, and benzene, which is in inks, especially the newspaper and junk mail that comes into your home. Place in a bright window and they will grow year around with blooms in the spring. They add a special color to any room.
Dracaena “Janet Craig” (Dracaena deremensis)
Dracaenas are easy to grow, need little water, and will adapt to any type of lighting. They remove formaldehyde from newly laid carpet or furnished rooms where formaldehyde is at its highest. They also remove xylene, which is used in the production of plastic bottles and polyester clothing.
English Ivy (Hedera helix)
English ivy or any type of ivy helps reduce airborne fecal matter from your home. It really doesn't matter if you have pets or not, anyone who enters your home wearing shoes brings it with them. Ivy also filters out formaldehyde, which is found in some cleaning products.
Golden Pothos (Scindapsus aures)
Golden photos are another plant that filters out formaldehyde. Very easy to grow in a hanging basket or on the coffee table, it will cascade down into a beautiful flow of bright green and yellow leaves to the floor, if you let it. Putting one in your garage will keep the formaldehyde from car exhaust at bay.
Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
The Bamboo Palm is a small plant that loves the shade. It has berries and flowers if treated right and filters out benzene and trichloroethylene takes care of any formaldehyde in your home.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
A peace lily in the corner of any room is a majestic sight as it reduces mold spores, which it uses for food. It will also absorb vapors from alcohol and acetone, which makes is great for the bathroom to keep down mold and mildew. It can increase the air quality in your home by 60 percent keeping down mold that may affect your family.
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema crispum 'Deborah')
The Chinese evergreen has been used in homes for hundreds of years to filter out air pollutants and toxins. Since it thrives in any type of light, even blooming with little red fruit (berries) in a dark corner, it's the perfect plant for clean air in any home.
Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)
The Areca Palm or most often called the “Butterfly Palm "is the perfect plant for any room of the house. It works best in humid areas like the bathroom or laundry room, it thrives on little water or attention. It releases moisture in the air as it removes chemical toxins. It's one of the highest rated plants for removing toxic air from a home.
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)
The lady palm thrives in low light areas, which makes it perfect for those dark corners behind the sofa. It removes formaldehyde, ammonia, xylene (solvents) and toluene (organic solvent cause severe neurological harm) from the air. It's also been called Broadleaf Lady Palm
Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta)
The rubber plant is a huge growing plant that will tolerate low light levels. It helps suppress microorganisms and volatile organic composites as soon as it brought into a room. Very efficient at removing toxins in the air. It also provides the needed moisture as well as removing bio emissions (waste products).
Aloe (Aloe vera)
Aloe is easy to grow in any type of light as it removes chemical scents from cleaners, paints, and waste in a home. It removes formaldehyde and benzene. Plus, you can use the gel for sunburns, cuts, and scraps. It works wonders on wrinkles and line lines in the skin. More than worth its weight in gold.
Red-edged Dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
All the paints, varnishes, and other products you use for DIY crafts can easily be removed by having a Dracaena in your home. It also takes care of xylene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde from normal household cleaners is also removed with a Dracaena. Since it tolerates low lights, it can be used in the garage to remove fumes from gasoline and car exhaust.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
A spider plant comes in variegated or a solid green and hangs in any corner of your home. Very hard to kill, even for the black thumb gardeners, it takes on benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene without too much trouble. Also, chemicals used in leather, rubber and printing are extracted with a spider plant.
Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')
The snake plant is also known as mother-in-law’s tongue, it filters out formaldehyde, which is used in most personal care products like toilet paper, cleaners and tissues. It will grow in any type of light with very little water and no attention. It works well in bathrooms and kitchens where most of the air pollution is located in a home.
Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
A huge, beautiful flowering plant in the spring, a Chrysanthemum makes any room a showcase. It filters out benzene that is found in most household products such as glue, paint, plastics and detergent. It likes bright light and will stay in bloom for many months, adding a splash of color to any room in the house or office.
Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
The weeping fig or fica as some people call them remove formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene from the air. Some people find them tricky to grow since moving them will have them dropping their leaves. However, if you treat them the way Mother Nature does with wind blowing and moving the leaves, you'll be able to move them whenever you want without any trouble.
Heart Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium)
The precious little heart shaped leaves of this Philodendron are great to have in any home. They remove all kinds of toxins from the air including formaldehyde, which, as you know, is in most every product that you bring home. They come in a variety of species, including Philodendron (Philodendron sp), particularly Heartleaf (Philodendron scandens ‘oxycardium’), Selloum (Philodendron selloum), and Elephant Ear Philodendron (Philodendron domesticum).
Azalea (Rhododendron simsii)
Azalea really do best outdoors, but you can bring them in when they bloom, which is in the winter. They can reduce the air quality of formaldehyde and other toxins in your home. They will thrive in a basement by the window or in a kitchen in the bright light. Try to keep them out of the direct sunlight unless you want to water them daily.