The ever-expanding urbanized living atmosphere of today has so greatly minimized nature within our homes. Unfortunately, the synthetic building and furniture materials holding a significant presence within our homes and office buildings produce a high level of undesirable indoor air pollution.
This is confirmed by scientific studies. The solution? Decorate with indoor plants, which actually remove toxins from the air. In offices, they help alleviate the so-called “sick building syndrome”!
Table of Contents
Best Air Purifying Plants for Apartments
1. Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
Snake Plant or Sansevieria trifasciata is recommended to be planted indoors for air purifying. The survival ability and growth status of the Snake Plant compared with other green plants, the evening Orchid can be used for vegetative indoor clearance.
In addition, Sansevieria trifasciata is used to protect the indoor environment from the toxic gases released by artificial coatings. Therefore, it can maintain its vitality, not string snake, and absorb various indoor toxic gases even in the absence of sunshine.
Snake plants have a history of filtering airborne pollutants. Many people call this plant mother-in-law’s tongue or snake plant. This tough-as-nails plant can survive in very low light.
Silicon dioxide is a major accumulation constituent in Snake Plant leaves. The capacity of the Sansevieria plant to remove indoor air pollutants and to absorb electromagnetic waves of high frequency to help purify the indoor environment has been taken great interest.
Sansevieria trifasciata or Moth-in-law’s tongue (Other common names: Tri-leaf faith, St-George’s Sword…) can be used to purify indoor air by absorbing various toxic substances such as ammonia, formaldehyde, etc, so it is called “air purifier.”
2. Areca Palm Plants (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens)
The areca palm is naturally a slow grower, but the plants can still be fairly large. They grow in clusters of slender, yellowish-green, bamboo-like trunks that are capped with tufted fronds that can be lacy or feather-like in texture. As a houseplant, the areca palm usually takes place in the middle of the pot and leaves stratum forth in a circle around the mother plant.
Several different palm species are popular as houseplants, and because they remove pollutants from their surroundings, the plants improve indoor air quality. One of these species, the areca palm, is an inexpensive way to rid homes of poisons in the air.
The areca palm, chosen as the houseplant of the month for September 1997 by the American Society for Horticulture Science (ASHS), is very effective in removing indoor toxins, as was determined in NASA studies.
Additionally, the areca palm releases abundant amounts of moisture into the dry indoor air. Dry, stale air causes poor skin moisture and often bothers sleeping children with coughs or dry skin.
3. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
Peace lily plants are native to Colombia and Venezuela in South America, and they are tolerant to shade. With a palm society connotation in their leaves, white dust tightly covers the green leaves. The whole plant is rich in moist ornamental and partially positive shadow. In bloom, the peace lily plant will display white petals, with a strong aroma emitting a fragrance.
Each plant has a different level of metabolism regarding scent purification; some of them will absorb energy through flowers while others absorb it to store it in the leaves. When it comes to the combination of a pot and a flower, peace lily plants are the most efficient. In an enclosed space of 0.5 cubic meters, an average of two potted peace lily plants is sufficient to make the indoor air fresh.
Air-purifying houseplants can absorb many air pollutants, collect them in their roots, and then convert them into food. These houseplants can also emit oxygen and adjust indoor humidity, making the indoor air healthier.
Air-purifying peace lily plants have a great effect in removing harmful substances such as formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, ammonia, and xylene, and they can absorb a great quantity of volatile organic compounds. However, peace lily plants often suffer from pest or disease problems.
4. English Ivy (Hedera helix)
According to the NASA air study on the improvement of the indoor environment or indoor air quality, the English ivy plant has a significant property as an air purifier. It helps a lot in decreasing the IAQ problem in an enclosed area.
In the study, Hedera helix has been shown to remove 60%-90% of volatile organic compounds (food, clothes, furniture, and anything that produces a lot of fumes) in a mere 6 hours. Such findings help people who work long hours.
When a lot of people everywhere now spend more than half of their waking hours indoors, this plant is really great for filtering some of these air pollutants.
The bio-filter of the English ivy plant also has the potential to save up to $100 million per year spent on the equipment cost of the present technology needed for volatile organic compounds removal from indoor atmospheres.
The English ivy (Hedera helix) is a houseplant that grows on anything available, be it a trellis, tree, fence, wall, or anything. This plant is also perfect for ground covers, no arguing about it. Despite being shade tolerant, the English ivy grows best indoors when put in bright sunlight.
True enough, because sunlight helps to lessen the probability of getting a mite problem with this plant. The English ivy’s air-purifying ability can create a good indoor environment, essential for being free from air pollution.
5. Bamboo Palm or Reed Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii)
Growing bamboo palm is an easy way to quickly put a little more green in your life. As we spend more hours at occupation places, and as home insulation becomes more airtight, the indoor air can significantly deteriorate.
A study by NASA in the late 1980s determined that to achieve maximum air freshness in an enclosed space, the air must be detoxified.
A ventilation system will make a difference, surely, but for those of us who think we could also use a living plant, the bamboo palm is one such humble tropical.
With a little indirect sun and water, cleansing your office air is not difficult. Furthermore, making your home a cozy, good place with a healthy living plant is a cinch.
The air-purifying bamboo palm is a hardy indoor plant. The 2- to 4-ft height of the bamboo palm allows it to fit easily into most spaces.
6. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
The Chinese evergreens belong to the hard stem type and are perennial herbs. In the wild, the main stem only grows to a certain height, then grows branches like the trees that branch out from the trunk. Each stem grows in a diameter of 3-5 cm.
The Chinese evergreens are more adaptable than many other foliage plants such as Epipremnum aureum because they adjust quickly while growing in various low light conditions, and have more tolerance to air pollution, and more leaf variations, and patterns.
Aglaonema plants, commonly known as the Chinese evergreens, are a highly decorative, slow-growing, herbaceous perennial of the family Araceae. Native to tropical and subtropical regions and having a strong tolerance for shady environments, they are suited to indoor cultures.
This plant is sturdy and durable, not easily sensitive to various factors, and is thus easy to grow at home or in offices. More importantly, they are one of the best indoor ornamental foliage plants suitable for air purification. Chinese evergreen can help eliminate air toxins such as “carbon monoxide”, “trichloroethylene”, “benzene”, “formaldehyde”, etc.
7. Dracaena Plants
Dracaena plants stand as a natural air purifier by consuming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a part of the process called photosynthesis and in return, they release fresh air back into the surroundings, making it fresh while removing the toxins inside our environment where they are placed.
Also, they reduce excess moisture and purify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in many indoor settings within the home and our workplace. The study done on these indoor pollutant concentrations found the potential cabin growing conditions space to reduce cabin air pollutants.
Air-purifying Dracaena are some of the best indoor plants that offer an enormous amount of value in terms of color, size, height impact, and most importantly, in actively removing toxins from the environment.
Dracaena is one of the aggressive air-purifying plants, which has amazingly more and more leaves with remarkable air-purifying, super elegant look, and a lot of varieties to satisfy any interior situation. The best part is that this stand secures its place in the research conducted by NASA as an air-purifying houseplant.
8. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamin)
Many people breathe air almost as bad as that outside of their homes, not realizing the air could be more pure. However, great numbers of people already love taking care of a plant and also feel good about their investment because weeping fig plants help purify the air.
When a person smokes or inhales toxins at home or work and is not in a ventilated area, nothing pulls these toxins from the person’s breathing mixture except for this special plant. These plants provide better air by removing formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, dioxide, and other airborne toxins.
9. Philodendron
These glossy-leaved plants are superstar air purifiers. (Their unique attributes make them quite the striking conversation pieces, too.) In fact, your space will benefit from inviting one or more of these mood-lifters in!
No worries, decorating your space can actually help purify it! You know there’s a job your space needs doing. You want to pick the perfect accents to carry out that mission. You want everyone in your home or office to live their best, healthiest lives. That’s where air-purifying plants come in.
Philodendron is nature’s little air purifier like other Golden Pothos and can help rid your space of yucky volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde, benzene, and ammonia.
In fact, these air-purifying plants have been proven to help provide a ton of health benefits for people including boosting mood and productivity, reducing stress and fatigue, battling colds and coughs, and even reducing the amount of sickness-causing germs in your home or office.
10. Pothos (Devil’s Ivy)
Air-purifying Devil’s Ivy is a natural air scrubber you won’t be disappointed in. It is also a very attractive indoor houseplant with its bright, variegated leaves and long, hanging tendrils.
This popular plant is native to the Solomon Islands, where it enjoys the light peeking through forest branches. Air-Purifying Pothos is a durable indoor plant, thriving in low to moderate light and water. When kept in temperatures above 70 and below 90 degrees, this wonderful houseplant could live forever.
Additional studies have shown pothos being able to remove VOCs, which include harmful chemicals such as benzene, toluene, octane, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde, which are commonly released from paint, wood and carpet flooring, cleaning agents, air fresheners, and hobby-related solvents.
Another study conducted illustrates pothos can effectively reduce nitrogen oxides. Potentially helping hospitals and clinics reduce the time of hospitalization and prevent additional harm to patients.
Studies have shown that pothos increases productivity by improving air quality. Acting as a strong air purifier, pothos can remove formaldehyde, commonly released in the workplace or homes by adhesives, grout and fillers, paper towels, napkin products, particleboard, and plywood panel products.
Did you know that certain indoor plants can go beyond merely being decorative and actually purify the air in your home or work environment? Breathe easier with air-purifying plants.
Nature’s innate ability to clean the air of toxic chemicals is a passed-over way to spruce up indoor environments. These living organisms work round the clock to remove toxins from the air, yet require only the most minimal attention.
The best part is that plants give your physical surroundings an enhanced, vibrant aesthetic look that only Mother Nature can provide.
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