If you have read my articles The air I breathe how polluted is it and how I became an environmental data collector on collecting data to know how air pollution affects my life indoors and outdoors. In this article, I will offer some ideas on how you can improve your indoor air quality with plants.
We use plants in our residential space for decoration or simply make us happy, plants are key for purifying the air and can be connected to our overall health.
You need to pay attention to your indoor air quality, indoor air pollution is a big threat to our health, according to a Clean Air Study conducted by NASA, and our separation from plants and the microorganisms in plants is a contributing factor to various health issues.
Indoor air pollution comes from a lot of sources, food preparation, a gas stove emits more pollution than an electric stovetop, there is also toxic emissions like benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene and toluene – adding it all up it can have negative effects on our health. These toxins are most commonly found in airtight spaces with limited air circulation, like office buildings and apartments.
To improve the air quality according to the NASA report says “If a man is to move into closed environments, on Earth or in space, he must take along nature’s life support system.”
That life support plants, most plants have many benefits and are natural air purifiers, but some houseplants are more effective than others at removing carcinogenic chemicals from the air. To help you to breathe easier, and you don’t already have a plant in your home, you probably should think about adding one.
Here is a list of air-purifying plants you should consider adding to your living space, that can help you fight allergies, improve your sleep and reconnect with nature.
- Epipremnum aureum is a species of flowering plant in the arum family Araceae, native to Mo’orea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia
- Chamaedorea seifrizii is a multitrunk palm that grows 8-10 feet tall and 5-7 feet wide, making it a good screening plant
- Philodendron bipinnatifidum looks a bit like a palm because of the lancet-shaped leaves it has
- Dracaena fragrans ‘Massangeana’ (Corn Plant) is a strongly upright, evergreen shrub with a stout tan stem topped by a rosette of long, sword-shaped leaves.
- Ficus elastica, the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, is a species of plant in the fig genus, native to eastern parts of South Asia and southeast Asia.
- Ficus benjamina, commonly known as weeping fig, benjamin fig or ficus tree, and often sold in stores as just ficus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to Asia and Australia.
- Aglaonema is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. They are native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and New Guinea.
- Dracaena fragrans, is a flowering plant species that is native throughout tropical Africa, from Sudan south to Mozambique, west to Côte d’Ivoire and southwest to Angola
- Dracaena trifasciata is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria east to the Congo. It is most commonly known as the snake plant, Saint George’s sword, mother-in-law’s tongue, and viper’s bowstring hemp, among other names.
- Spathiphyllum is a genus of about 47 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of Spathiphyllum are commonly known as spath or peace lilies.
- Zamioculcas is a genus of flowering plant in the family Araceae, containing the single species Zamioculcas zamiifolia, originating in drought-prone Africa (where it thrives outdoors).
- Hedera helix, the common ivy, English ivy, European ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae, native to most of Europe and western Asia.
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