There’s an easy and inexpensive way of cleaning your indoor air — houseplants. Adding houseplants to your home not only beautifies your indoor space but also boosts your indoor air quality. Let’s learn more about how these gifts from Mother Nature purify your air.
How Houseplants Clean Air
While plants take in carbon dioxide, they also absorb some toxins from the air. What’s more, microorganisms in the potting soil also contribute to the removal of household toxins.
Although all plants can purify your home’s air to some extent, some have been proven to be more effective. Here are the top types of houseplants you can add to your home to get cleaner air.
Peace Lily
The peace lily plant blooms fragrant flowers during the summer. It grows best in shady spots. The indoor pollutants it removes from your home’s air include formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, ammonia and benzene, a contaminant found in furniture wax, polishes, and paint.
Boston Fern
The Boston fern has feather-like leaves and curved fronds. It’s easy to grow but needs constant moisture. It gets rid of formaldehyde, which is found in some wood products and glues, and xylene.
Snake Plant
The snake plant, or the mother-in-law’s tongue, features sharp leaves. It requires occasional watering and is hard to kill. It removes trichloroethylene, xylene, benzene and formaldehyde.
Dracaena
You can easily find this houseplant because there are over 40 different types. If you’re a pet owner, you may want to go for an alternative since the dracaena plant is toxic to cats and dogs. It helps rid your indoor air of trichloroethylene, xylene, benzene and formaldehyde.
Spider Plant
The spider plant is an ideal choice for a beginner or forgetful owner because it’s very easy to grow. It has long, grassy leaves and hanging stems that eventually sprout plantlets, hence its name. It removes xylene and formaldehyde.
When buying any houseplant, make sure you know its preferred environmental conditions and how much water it will require. For more information on houseplants that clean indoor air, contact us at Arpi’s Industries. We’ve served the Calgary area for more than 50 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about cleaning your indoor air with houseplants and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide.
Credit/Copyright Attribution: “imnoom/Shutterstock”
