Houseplants that Clean the Air

We all know that plants create oxygen and are responsible for maintaining a clean atmosphere for us to breathe, but have you ever thought about that on the smaller-scale? Choosing the right houseplants can help keep your home’s air clean and fresh.

And that’s not just about stale aromas in the house. There can be a wide range of toxic substances in your air that you aren’t even aware of, like the fumes and vapors from all the synthetic materials in your house (think carpeting, construction adhesives, paints, and more). A nice bank of houseplants can act like a natural filter to clean up your air.

To get the best results, you also need to have enough plants for the size of your living space. Try to have one plant for every 10 square yards of floor space, which usually means 2 plants for each large room. Some plants are better air-filters than others, so you can maximize the benefits by choosing the right plants. Here are some of the best ones, along with some tips on growing them.

Peace Lily

The Peace Lily has big glossy leaves and dramatic white flowers, and it does very well indoors as an air-cleaner. Any good sunny spot with indirect light will do for a Peace Lily but keep it away from any windows or door that would let in winter drafts. It will likely need water once a week, but you can watch for droopy leaves to let you know when it needs a drink. You can expect a typical plant to be around 3 feet high.

English Ivy

The long, trailing nature of ivy makes it great for hanging baskets or high shelves where the branches can dangle freely. It can be a bit of a problem if the plant starts to get too unwieldy. Just snip off the tips to keep the length down. Other than that, it tends to stay a reasonable size and shouldn’t requite too much space. Keep your plants in a sunny location but out of any direct sunlight, and don’t let the soil dry right out between waterings.

Rubber Plant

Big thick leaves make the Rubber Plant a lovely addition of green to a room, but you won’t really get any flowers from it. You’ll need several feet of space so don’t plan on keeping this big plant on a table or counter-top for very long. Trim down new growth or you can end up with a full-sized tree in your house. It does fine in typical room temperature with full to medium light during the day. You can let the soil dry out between each watering.

Boston Fern

The feathery leaves of a Boston Fern are lovely, and it gives this air-cleaning plant a very delicate look compared to the heavy foliage of the Rubber Plant. These ferns like lots of light, just not in a hot window. Many people presume that ferns prefer shade, but that’s not the case with the Boston Fern. It’s a tropical plant that likes sun and warmth. Keep your plant well-watered, and even mist the leaves regularly to keep its moisture levels up.

Gerbera Daisy

The next houseplant is the Gerbera Daisy, which will bring you some nice green foliage as well as large bright flowers a few times a year. It’s much smaller plant than most of the other mentioned, so it would be a good choice for a counter, window-sill or table. It grows new leaves from the center and older leaves drop off, keeping the plant a relatively small size even after years of growth. They like lots of sun (direct is good for a few hours, but indirect would be OK too). The soil can dry out a bit between waterings and you’ll notice the leaves starting to droop when the plant needs water.

Chrysanthemum

Our last plant is the ever-popular Chrysanthemum. It’s another option like the Gerbera Daisy that can add some floral color as well as green leaves to your room. They seldom grow more than 2 feet high so whey can fit into lots of indoor locations as long as they have plenty of indirect light through the day. Don’t overwater your mums. Let the soil get dry before you water them again. As the flowers die, pick them off the plant to encourage more blossoming.

These are just some of the very best plants for keep your air clean, but they are not the only ones. You can also have Spider Plants, Pothos, Ficus and Philodendron to get a similar effect.

NASA is getting interested in these plants for future space stations to help keep the air clean. If that doesn’t give them some credentials, I don’t know what would.

None of these plants are overly exotic and should be easy enough to find at any garden or home improvement store that sells houseplants. Technically, you could grow any of them from seed but it is more typical to buy a small established plant. Just remember the eventual sizes (like the potentially huge Rubber Plant) before you make your choices.