The Benefits of House Plants for Purifying your Home

We’ve all heard about the importance of clean air. It’s in almost every climate change advertisement we see. Have you ever thought about the air in your home? You may think you are safe from outdoor pollutants. However, according to the EPA, your indoor air quality may shockingly be 2 to 5 times worse than outdoor air and may even be 1,000 times more polluted than the outside air. 

The air quality in your home is incredibly important for the longevity of your health  + preventing disease. You may wonder how you can fix this issue. Well, luckily there are simple things you can implement to help purify your home’s air. Let’s talk about one specifically, plants.

We know trees help clean the air by removing carbon and releasing oxygen into the environment, but did you know there are indoor plants that function the same way? A NASA study done in 1989 found 8 specific indoor plants that are best known to remove toxins such as benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene (TCE). These chemicals are detrimental to human health, and therefore should be prevented in any way possible.

Without further ado, let’s look at plants you can incorporate to purify your home! 

•  Rubber Tree (fig or ficus) – these easy-to-find plants are tolerant of sparse watering and do best in medium to high light. Always allow it to dry between waterings. 

• Peace Lily – extremely easy to find and beautiful. They’re low maintenance and require low to medium amounts of both water and sunlight. 

• Snake Plant—can’t keep a plant alive? Have a “black thumb”? This is the plant for you! These low-maintenance plants require sparse watering, thrive on neglect, and will even grow in low light… making them optimal for any space in your home.

• Spider Plant—these trailing beauties tolerate low light conditions, thrive in hanging pots, and don’t require much water. 

• Money Plant—these are durable, fast-growing, do well with sparse waterings and thrive in medium to high light. They’re great for hanging baskets or pots.

• Dumb Cane —also known as a mother-in-law plant, this variety likes moderate sunlight and watering. 

• Moth Orchid—water orchids sparingly and be sure the soil drains well. Nourish the soil with a good orchid fertilizer to promote more blooms. To help with the learning curve of caring for orchids, I highly recommend this article from HGTV: 8 Ways to Kill Your Orchid.

•  Philodendron—There are many varieties of philodendrons, most preferring high-light spaces. They’re also very water-efficient, only requiring watering every 10 days or whenever the soil is completely bone dry.  

There are other plants you can incorporate into your home too such as succulents and ivies but these were the top 8. I suggest spreading them out across your home for best results. 

Note on furry friends: check before purchasing if a plant is safe for animals. Sometimes plants are toxic to pets if consumed. 

I have found indoor plants in my space to be so helpful in improving my air quality + bettering my mood! Plants are proven to improve mental health and studies show increased air quality can increase cognitive function, sleep quality, energy levels and more! 

I can’t recommend enough adding in air purifying plants into your space to improve your home health. It was a game changer for me. As a holistic interior designer, I care about creating spaces that not only look good, but also feel good. It’s important to care about the environment and your personal health in each step of the process. If you want to see other ways to improve your home environment, check out my non-toxic cleaning products I recommend!