The Best Air Cleaning Plants

Plants that help to clean the air around you are worth talking about as newer homes and businesses are built much tighter to conserve on heating and air conditioning. It also means that there is less movement of fresh outside air coming in for us to breath.

NASA researchers, led by Dr. Bill Wolverton, were concerned about the build up of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air in the Sky Lab. These include benzene, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide, also found in homes. This concern led to studies of plants in closed environments looking at the plant’s ability to absorb toxins and purify the air.

The best plants for homes and work places are:

• Chrysanthemum morifolum, Pot mum
• Gerbera jamesonii, Gerbera daisy Dracaena spp.
• Ficus benjamina, Weeping fig
• Sansevieria trifasciata, Snake plant
• hlorophytum comosum, Spiderplant
• Aglaonema modestum, Chinese evergreen
• Nephrolepis obliterate, Australian sword fern
• Spathiphyllum wallisii, Peace lily
• Epipremnum aureum , Pothos
• Hedera helix, English ivy
• Nephrolepsis exaltata, Boston fern
• Philodendron scandens, Heartleaf philodendron
• Philodendron domesticum, Elephant ear philodendron
• Chamaedorea seifrizii, Reed palm
• Hoenix roebelenii, Dwarf date palm

Place plants around the room allowing space for air to freely move around the plants.

Did you know?
Dolomitic lime is calcium magnesium carbonate. Calcitic lime is calcium carbonate. If your soil test results indicate you need to raise the soil pH and the magnesium level is OK, calcitic lime would be the preferred material. However if the pH needs to be raised and the magnesium level is low, consider applying dolomitic lime.