How Can Houseplants Clean Your Air?

How Can Houseplants Clean Your Air?Are you concerned about cleaning the air in your home? One easy way to do so is by adding two houseplants per 100 square feet of living space. Numerous studies — including one by NASA — have shown that certain plants boost air quality as well as add a homey aesthetic. Here are the most effective houseplants for removing volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and other harmful pollutants and making your indoor air cleaner and healthier.

  • Peace lily — The blooms on the peace lily are pretty, but it’s the leaves that scrub the air of some highly-toxic VOCs, including benzene, formaldehyde trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene and acetone vapors.
  • Bamboo palm — If you’re looking for a compact, shade-tolerant plant, choose the bamboo palm that effectively removes trichloroethylene, benzene and formaldehyde.
  • Golden pothos — To clear the air of lethal carbon monoxide, as well as ozone, formaldehyde and benzene, place this fast-growing vine in the entryway from an attached garage.
  • Snake plant — Bathrooms where cleaning, personal care and paper products release formaldehyde are ideal locations for the compact “mother-in-law’s tongue” that loves humidity and thrives even in low-light conditions.
  • Spider plant — Resilient and low-maintenance, spider plants are good for getting rid of carbon monoxide, benzene, ozone, formaldehyde and toxic xylene.
  • English ivy — For a lush green addition to a room with poor lighting, consider the English ivy. It’s fast-growing too and an effective filter for both airborne mold spores and formaldehyde.
  • Asparagus fern — A delicate, lacy relative of garden-variety asparagus, this pretty fern filters out toluene, benzene, octane, and alpha-pinene, a chemical ingredient in air fresheners and deodorizers.
  • Red-edged dracaena — If you’re worried about forgetting to water a houseplant, choose a resilient dracaena to help clear the air of formaldehyde, benzene, toluene and xylene.
  • Lady palm — This compact, leafy palm fits perfectly into a corner in a living areas or bedroom where it’s effective at removing ammonia, a common chemical found in fabrics, dyes and cleaning products.

To learn more about how house plants can clean your air, or other methods of improving air quality in your Yuma home, contact us today at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about cleaning the air with houseplants and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.

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