10 Best Air Purifying House Plants That Clean the Air and Remove Toxins
If you are looking at removing toxins from your home, you need to consider plants as your best natural solution.
Plants can not only absorb those harmful and invisible toxins in the air; they can improve the air quality of your home and add moisture to dry air.
People look for air purifying plants for different reasons; some have allergies to dust and mold and are looking for plants that don’t attract and cumulate dust on their leaves, some want to add humidity to their dry home and other simply want to remove toxins from their homes.
There are many articles and lists on every possible type of specialized air purifying plants for every need on the web, but honestly, there are two fundamental common sense aspects to consider before digging deep into researching the perfect plant for your specific need, whether it’s allergies, adding humidity or removing toxins;
1. Many, many indoor plants are great at improving the indoor quality of your home.
2. Make sure all plants in your home have the proper drainage; without drainage, your plants not only will rot and die, they will produce mold which is the number one cause of houseplant allergies. Mold is not good for anybody, not just for people with allergies!
If you are looking at air purifying plants because you suffer from allergies, I highly recommend you read this informative article on 7 Best Indoor Plants for Asthma, Allergy Sufferers, and Air Pollution.
If you are interested in the scientific data proving that plants, (and exactly which plants) are excellent natural weapons to improve your home air pollution, you should read the Nasa Clean Air Study.
If you are looking at safe house plants for your pets, you should read my article on 10 Best Non-Toxic House Plants That are Safe for Children, Cats and Dogs.
As I said before, there are many articles and lists on Air Purifying Plants, however this list is based on my very own tried and true experience with plants I own myself!
Here are the 10 Air Purifying Plants that will not only clean your home’s air, but will also enhance the look of your space!
1. Areca Palm, (Chrysalidocarpus Lutescens)
Areca Palms are different from other palms such as the Parlor Palm, which is also an excellent air purifier, so make sure you don’t confuse the two as their level of care is quite different!
Areca Palms enjoy bright indirect light areas and don’t thrive in low light rooms! However, these plants may turn their leaves yellow if exposed to too much direct sun!
This is not a plant that does well if neglected; in-fact, they need to be watered often enough to keep their soil moist in between waterings. Do not let its soil dry through!
These palms can be expensive if purchased at their full height of 6 to 7 feet but since they grow quite fast, (6″ to 10″ per year), you can find a table top size and let it grow!! Areca Palms are great for adding a tropical flare and wow! effect to your home!
This plant helps remove benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene.
Photo Credit: The Girl with a Shovel
2. Peace Lily, (Spathiphyllum)
I was given this Peace Lily from my friends when my grandma passed away and I have seen it growing new leaves and flowers for 18 months now. This plant has been easy to care for, no matter the light condition.
They thrive in low to medium light and they are drought resistant. You can decide you want to water it every 10 days or you can simply wait until all the leaves droop…You’ll know when it’s thirsty! The “wait until it droops” method does not damage the plant! Overwatering is damaging to this plant though!
This plant helps remove benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene.
3. Spider Plant, (Chlorophytum Comosum)
Spider Plants are extremely adaptable plants; basically impossible to kill and because of this, highly recommended for Black Thumbs!
These plants are ideal hangers for moderate to low light environments, they like to thoroughly dry out between waterings and produce many spiderettes that can be used for propagating the plant.
Spider Plants come in green or variegated varieties as well as curly, like the one shown in the picture here below.
Water approximately once every one or two weeks.
This plant helps remove formaldehyde and xylene.
Photo Credit: Mulhall’s
4. Snake Plant, (Sansevieria Trifasciata)
This plant is also an excellent choice for dark spaces. It’s no coincidence that this is one of the most popular plants for malls and offices. They are extremely easy to care for, require very little watering and low light conditions.
Air purification is another advantageous aspect of this plant.
Its modular and tall vertical leaves makes it a perfect space partition and delineation living tool. This plant is often used to separate spaces, like for example, a common work area from a series of individual desks, or to create a visual signage to direct traffic to a specific area, like for example a row of these plants on each side of a main entrance.
Water it approximately once every two weeks.
This plant helps remove benzene, formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene.
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5. Madagascar Dragon Tree, (Dracaena Marginata)
Dragon Trees or Dracaenas are very easy to grow plants and, for this exact reason, are very suitable for plants newbies.
These plans enjoy moderate to low light conditions. Full sun will burn its leaves. Dracaenas are drought tolerant, so you don’t have to water them very often. Overwatering is one of the main causes of death for the plant. Depending on how much light this plant receives, it can be watered up to every three weeks! Keep in mind Dracaenas are sensitive to fluoride so it is always best to water them with distilled water if your tap water has high fluoride levels.
This plant helps remove formaldehyde, xylene and trichloroethylene.
Photo Credit: The Tree Center
6. Boston Fern, (Nephrolepis Exaltata)
Boston Ferns are highly decorative plants and look great in many different settings. They are not the easiest plants to care for but once you’ve found the right environment for it and learnt the proper tricks to keep it thriving, it will add so much spark to your home!
These plants thrive in humid environments and do well with moderate to low light conditions. It is tricky to provide this plant with the humidity it needs in heated homes that tend to be dry. The trick is to either regularly mist the plant twice a week or to place it on a tray of pebbles filled with water. Never let the soil dry or the plant will die.
On top of regular misting, watering and keeping the soil humid with pebble trays, it is a good practice to soak the plant in water once a month for a thorough watering.
Boston Ferns can grow quite big and, based on their size, can either be set on tables, plant stands or ceiling hung.
This plant helps remove formaldehyde and xylene.
Photo Credit: Farm Food Family
7. Chinese Evergreen, (Aglaonema)
The Chinese Evergreen plant is highly tolerant to poor light conditions, dry environments and drought.
Like the Cast Iron Plant, it does not like cooler temperatures and needs to be away from drafts.
Water this plant approximately once every two weeks and allow to dry through before the next watering.
This plant helps remove xylene and formaldehyde.
Photo Credit: Hunker.com
8. Aloe Vera
One of the most important thing to consider when caring for an Aloe Vera plant is that it is a type of succulent. As such, it is critical that good drainage is provided to this plant. Being a succulent also means it thrives in dryer areas making air heated homes ideal environments.
Aloe Veras need lots of light so a South or West facing window is the ideal location for it.
As the majority of succulents, it needs to dry thoroughly in between waterings. When you water this plant make sure all the extra water drains through the pot. Only allow the extra water cumulated in the bottom tray for half hour after watering. Whatever is left, it needs to be tossed! Many Aloe Vera plants die due to overwatering!
If you purchase or already have a large Aloe Vera plant, you can use the juice in its stems to treat rashes and burns! What a bonus!
This plant helps remove formaldehyde.
Photo Credit: WikiHow
9. English Ivy, (Hedera Helix)
Together with the Spider Plant, this is one of the “Universal Plants” good for everything; low maintenance, low light, non-toxic and ideal hangers! Definitely a plant for a newbie!
English Ivies like medium light the best but can do well in moderately low light conditions. Like all variegated species, they thrive and continue to produce variegated leaves with higher light levels. These plants don’t like to be overwatered so it’s a good idea to check the top 1″ of soil with your finger to determine if it is dry enough to re-water. At the same time, do not let the soil dry thoroughly!
Indoor English Ivy don’t grow out of control. It is however aesthetically pleasing and fun to create interesting wall or wire designs with its long trailing branches!
This plant helps remove benzene and formaldehyde.
Photo Credit: House Beautiful
10. Heart Leaf Philodendron, (Philodendron Brasil)
Philodendrons are easy to care for, fast growing plants that can adapt to different light conditions. From indirect sun, to medium light, to low light.
I made my Philodendron Brasil our bathroom plant as it enjoys a humid, low light environment.
Since I placed my Philodendron in a darker corner of our bathroom I noticed the new leaves were growing in a solid bright green colour rather than variegated like the rest of the leaves. I moved it to a brighter spot of the bathrooms and I noticed the newer leaves were growing variegated. This is to prove that, like in the case of Pothos, you can grow these plants in low light conditions but the leaves will loose their variegation. Your most successful Philodendron for darker rooms are the solid green ones.
I water mine approximately once every 10 days.
This plant helps remove formaldehyde.
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