7 Air Purifying Plants That Are Nearly Indestructible

7 Air Purifying Plants That Are Nearly Indestructible

by Steven Gordon

We all like to think that our home is our castle that can protect from the dangers of the outside world. That’s normally the case, unless you’re talking about air quality.

The EPA just revealed that inside air pollution ranks high in our country’s public health risks. Fortunately, there are some plants that can drastically improve your home’s air quality.

But wait, there’s more! These plants require so little maintenance that they could actually outlive most of us.

7 Air Purifying Plants That Are Almost Immortal

1. Spider Plant

These plants are on the top of my list because they can survive the most neglectful plant owners. This fact alone makes them the perfect purifying plant to start out with because they’re so easy to take care of.

Besides regular doses of water and light, these plants absolutely devour carbon dioxide to convert it into oxygen. Some studies posit that they can also filter out other respiratory irritants.

Best of all, they almost propagate like rabbits. You could even have your own Spider Plant air-purifying factory in no time.

2. Ficus

I really like these plants because, depending on the size of pots you use, they can actually grow between two to ten feet high. Their size alone gives them a presence that can light up any room.

In addition to the standard consumption of carbon monoxide, ficus plants can actually filter out formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene from your home’s indoor air.

Just keep them in sunlight and make sure to not overwater their roots. If you really want to make your ficus happy, periodically spray it with water.

3. Garden Mum

Recent studies in NASA have demonstrated that this common houseplant is a true champ when it comes to purifying the air in your home.

With this plant in your home, you’ll be able to drastically reduce your overall levels of benzene, xylene, ammonia, and formaldehyde.

Besides being affordable, you can almost plant Garden Mums almost anywhere.

4. Snake Plant

Out of all the plants on this list, this is one is definitely the toughest to kill. These plants only need water and sunlight occasionally. This in turn makes them the perfect plants for anyone who wants to do the minimal amount of maintenance.

These bad boys will filter out xylene, benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from you favorite room.

5. Bamboo Palm

If you really need to get rid of formaldehyde from your home’s ventilation system, this is your go-to plant. Measuring up to 12 feet, these plants definitely make an impression in your home.

Although they don’t have any extra watering instructions, bamboo palms will thrive if they get enough sunlight.

Oh, and did I mention they can also get rid of benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde?

6. Dracaena

A word of warning for all pet owners: all varieties of dracaena are toxic to cats and dogs. So, if you have any four-legged family members, you should skip out on this plant entirely.

The good news is that there are over forty varieties of dracaena; choose the type that best works for you.

They’re efficient at filtering out the standard particles found in your home.

7. Boston Fern

This one’s going straight to your bathroom because it loves cool locations with high indexes of humidity and indirect sunlight. In return, Boston ferns will remove xylene and formaldehyde from your home.

If you’re a veteran gardener, you could also try planting these instead.

http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/green-living/archives/1999/spider-plants-and-clean-air.aspx

http://simpleorganiclife.org/9-houseplants/

http://tinyurl.com/kjw2gys

Original article and pictures take www.fhfn.org site