Indoor plants are basically magicians—they can make things vanish out of thin air! Well, to be clear, they make airborne pollutants disappear, but that’s still pretty darn impressive. You might not know it, but our homes contain many toxic gasses emitted by common household products and appliances. Keeping air-purifying houseplants indoors helps eliminate these cancer-causing chemicals, so you can rest easy knowing the air in your home is purified and safe!   

 

Purifying Your Air with Indoor Plants

In the 1980s, NASA held a study to measure the effectiveness of indoor plants for purifying the air. They were concerned about the chemicals in their spaceships and wanted to make conditions safer for their astronauts! The results were mind-blowing: scientists confirmed that if you keep two houseplants for every 100 square feet of your home, the air will be significantly cleaner! 

Here are our eight favorite houseplants with powerful air-purifying properties and the best rooms in the house for you to display them. 

 

Areca Palm

This low-maintenance tropical is a big favorite around here. It’s completely non-toxic, so it’s safe to grow if you have mischievous pets at home. On top of being non-toxic, it makes the air less toxic by removing toluene and xylene. These chemicals are often found in paint products and adhesives, so their air-purifying properties are ideal for storage rooms, home art studios, or anywhere in the house that’s been recently painted. 

 

Dees Nursery - Houseplants With Air Purifying Powers -snake plants in home

Snake Plant 

One of the easiest beginner houseplants, the air-purifying Snake Plant thrives on low light and infrequent watering. They filter out chemicals like carbon monoxide, benzene, toluene, and trichloroethylene. Studies show that keeping Snake Plants in the bedroom can help you sleep better!

Rubber Plant

We love these popular houseplants for their big, glossy leaves, but they’re also known for their ability to remove formaldehyde from the air. Formaldehyde is released from smoke, so if you’ve got a fireplace in the living room, it’s definitely worth picking up some air-purifying Rubber Plants to keep your home formaldehyde-free!

 

Dees Nursery - Houseplants With Air Purifying Powers -english ivy in home

English Ivy

A beautiful vining plant with distinctive foliage, English Ivy is a real stunner—especially on floating shelves, so their vines can cascade downward. English Ivy filters out formaldehyde, xylene, and trichloroethylene— a chemical often found in carpet cleaners and refrigerants. Put an air-purifying English Ivy in the kitchen near the refrigerator or anywhere else in the house where there’s carpet. 

Peace Lily 

One of our favorite flowering indoor houseplants, the sweetly serene Peace Lily never fails to impress us with its sleek, ivory blooms. Don’t be fooled by its innocent appearance—Peace Lilies are total powerhouses when it comes to purifying the air. They eliminate alcohols, acetone, trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde. This makes them great for bathrooms—all those perfumed products, nail polishes and removers, and cleaning products emit harmful gasses that your Peace Lily will happily remove.  

 

Dees Nursery - Houseplants With Air Purifying Powers -boston fern houseplant

Boston Fern

Who could resist this adorably shaggy plant? With such lush foliage, it’s no surprise the Boston Fern is one of the best indoor plants for air purification. It’s great for removing formaldehyde—often found in the adhesives used in cheap furniture made from plywood or particleboard. This makes them perfect for dorm rooms and first-time homeowners decorating on a budget!

Pygmy Date Palm

With a fabulously textured trunk and breezy fronds, the potted Pygmy Date Palm brings a fun, carefree vibe to your home scenery. It’s best at removing xylene—often found in paints and lacquers—so if you do a lot of home renos, it’s worth picking up this air-purifying indoor plant.

 

Dees Nursery - Houseplants With Air Purifying Powers -spider plant in home

Spider Plant

The Spider Plant is famous for its ability to produce “pups” that can be plucked off and replanted to become entirely new houseplants. However, it doesn’t get enough credit for all the chemicals it removes from the air: formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, carbon oxide, ozone, benzene, toluene—even cigarette smoke and ammonia! So, if you’ve got any smokers living at home, or if you’ve got a cat with a bad habit of relieving itself on the carpet, consider purchasing air-purifying Spider Plants. 

 

Buying a new collection of houseplants is a small price to pay for cleaner air and a healthier future for your family! Dees’ Nursery has all of these fantastic air-purifying indoor plants for sale, plus many more varieties that remove harmful airborne pollutants. Visit us soon to see what’s new!