Indoor plants are a fantastic way to bring the outdoors inside, no matter what time of year it is (and, with temperatures starting to drop, windows and doors will likely be spending more time closed!). Not only can plants breathe life into a room, but did you know they can also, literally, breathe fresh clean air into your home as well?!?
Sadly, our indoor air can become even more polluted than outdoor air(!) due in part to everything from VOCs in paint to all of the horrible things we track in on our shoes and then send airborne!
Just take a look at what some of the most common household plants can “do” for your home!:
- Areca palm – this one is the top purifier and also humidifies the air as it cleans! (Lady palm and bamboo palm also do an amazing job!)
- Peace lilies – also a great all-around air purifier, and incredibly easy to maintain.
- English ivy – fantastic for removing airborne mold (up to 60% of airborne mold in just six hours, by the way!).
- Spider plants – great at removing 100% of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide from the air in only 24 hours.
- Boston ferns – another great over-all air purifier but especially for removing formaldehyde from the air.
- Rubber plants – great for cleaning out those VOCs.
To reach maximum effectiveness, it’s recommended to have at least one 6” plant per 100 feet of living space.
Amazing, isn’t it? Actually, it’s exactly what I would expect Mother Nature to provide… something to clean-up our dirty work (and dirty air!).