Indoor plants aren’t only a great way to make your home look better without spending a fortune, they can also help detoxify and freshen the air and overall improve your health.
Spider plant
One of the most popular home plants and probably the easiest to grow is also a pretty hard worker – it helps remove formaldehyde and xylene – emitted by detergents, furnishings and plastics, as well as laminate flooring and insulation – from the air.
Keep it in bright indirect sunlight and don’t forget to water occasionally and it should do well.
Peace lily
Did you know that NASA has been studying indoor plants to find additional ways to purify the air in space stations and spacecrafts and discovered that Peace Lily is a champion in battling ammonia, often found in plastics, dyes and cleaning products? One lily plant can remove toxins from up to 10 m2 of space! It can also reduce symptoms associated with allergies or asthma, like itchy eyes and irritated skin.
Peace Lily’s prefer shady spaces or mild indirect sunlight and can be quite temperamental when it comes to water, so always keep filtered water handy, as it’s sensitive to fluoride in tap water.
Aloe Vera
Another formaldehyde-clearing heroine also contains a clear liquid full of vitamins in its leaves. It has wound-healing (especially when it comes to minor burns and sunburns), antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It also removes benzene from paint, dyes, plastics and rubber from the air. But Aloe Vera’s secret super-power? it’s ability to work as an air monitor – if the plant develops brown spots, this could be a sign of high levels of benzene in your home!
Aloe Vera thrives in bright direct sunlight and with moderate watering every two weeks.
Snake Plant
Benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene – if this toxin exists, the Snake Plant (also known as Mother-in-Law’s Tongue) can probably clean it and will release pure oxygen in its place.
Snake Plant is one of the hardest to kill – it can endure direct sun as well as rooms with limited light. It can survive monthly watering (though it would, of course, be better to water it fortnightly) but also loves humid bathrooms.
Dracaena
Dracaena is one of those impressive plants that easily become a focal point in every room. All its 40 varieties look gorgeous and grow quite quickly. It also filters out benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and xylene from the air.
Dracaena doesn’t appreciate over-watering. Most often you can get away with simply misting its leaves and soil every now and then.
Rubber plant
This beauty is the best to combat bacteria and mould spores. The Rubber plant is able to absorb airbourne particles through its leaves and deposit them into the soil, where they’re broken down and converted into nutrients for the plant. It can reduce mould and bacteria in a room by as much as 50%!
Prefers drier conditions and low light.
Fern
The Boston Fern – and its variety Lemon Button Fern specifically – is known for removing common airborne pollutants, like formaldehyde, xylene and toluene, which can contribute to headaches, trouble breathing and the growth of cancerous cells.
Ferns thrive in high humidity and low light. It helps to keep them in the same corner as your other tropical plants, where they can create their own microclimate. Mist the area often.