8 Air Purifying House Plants
6-minute read
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Keeping the air clean in your home can be challenging. Constantly buying new filters for your air purifiers can be expensive. What if I told you that house plants can purify the air in your home?
In this blog post, I am sharing with you the top 8 air purifying plants that are not only esthetically pleasing but also air cleansing. I will be covering these air purifying house plants:
Pothos
Snake plants
Spider plants
Peace lilies
Anthuriums
Money trees
Boston ferns
Palms
And the Bonus #1 air purifying plant
If you are ready to learn more about how plants can purify the air in your house, looking for a fun new hobby, or simply need a new home décor look then you have come to the right place! Purifying your air does not have to cost hundreds of dollars. Pick out a few of these plants and clean your air naturally.
Pothos or Epipremmum aureum
Pothos plants are one of the most efficient air purifying house plants. They remove common household toxins and are almost as effective as a store-bought air purifier, but they are more energy-efficient, more visually pleasing, and a more natural source for purifying the air in our homes.
This plant is not only good at cleaning your air, but also minimal maintenance and an easy plant to grow. There are so many different varieties that make cleaning your air fun and visually pleasing. I currently have about 10 different varieties of Pothos plants in my house and I love collecting them. Here are some of the varieties I have.
This plant’s needs are easily met by providing low to medium, indirect light, moist soil, and a well-draining pot. Pothos also live a long time and can easily be propagated, which means made into more plants, from its leaf cuttings. For more information about plant care read 10 must haves to level up your plant care.
Snake Plants or Dracaena trifasciata
Snake plants are pure oxygen bombs. The best place to keep these plants is in your bedroom. They enjoy low-light settings and continue producing oxygen throughout the night. While other plants release carbon dioxide in the absence of sunlight, snake plants continue to release oxygen throughout the nighttime.
Snake plants, like Pothos, also come in a variety. And they are self-propagating, meaning they will produce “pups” or baby plants that you can transplant.
Snake plants are considered low-light plants because they can adjust to living in a room with less light and do fine. They are also easy to care for, they only require minimal waterings since they store water in their foliage. Keeping snake plants alive is easy and air purifying.
Spider Plants or Chlorophytum comosum
Spider plants are found to be the champions at removing formaldehyde from the air. These plants are also one of the easiest to propagate, because they too produce “pups.” Both the Snake plant and Spider plants reproduce tiny plants called “pups” that grow on the mother plant, and then are easily removed from her and can be planted as a new one. This is an easy way to add more air purifying plants to your collection.
Spider plants make great hanging plants and are visually pleasing. They are a little more challenging to keep happy with their watering regimen, but I have found to water when the top 2 to 3 inches of soil is dry and be sure to have them in a well-draining pot.
Peace lilies or Spathiphyllums
Peace lilies are good at neutralizing toxic gases like benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide in our air. This plant is a little fussy, but in return its blooms are stunning and in the right conditions it will bloom throughout the year. The same with this next air-purifying plant, Anthuriums.
Flamingo Plants or Anthuriums
These plants make good workplace plants because of their ability to remove air pollutants, such as toluene and xylene.
To get Anthuriums to bloom year-round, provide elevated levels of indirect light, well-draining soil, and this plant enjoys being able to dry out between watering, but loves high humidity in the space around them.
Having a well-draining pot helps to accomplish both by draining all the excess water out of their soil, but these plants can still absorb humidity from the air.
Flamingo plants or Anthuriums, are just visually stunning! That is one of the reasons I am absolutely in love with this plant. Other reasons I love flamingos are that this plant comes in pink and the blooms resemble a flamingo. I love flamingos.
I have one in red, but I want pink and orange too!
Money Trees or Pachira aquatica
The Chinese money tree is not only known to bring wealth and good luck but is also known for purifying the air from synthetics like those found in household cleaners.
Money trees enjoy being away from drafts, bright, indirect light, and elevated levels of humidity in the air. They dislike drafts and if exposed to these conditions they will drop all their leaves.
Money trees love humidity. To keep mine free from drafts I had to place it in an area without access to the humidifier. As an alternative to the humidifier, place a terra cotta tray of gravel under the pot and keep water in the tray. This provides easy humidity without having to run a humidifier.
I love this plant’s unique leaves and braided trunk.
Boston Ferns or Nephrolepis exaltata
Boston ferns rank highly for removing formaldehyde from the indoor air we breathe. Ferns are another plant that can be fussy.
Boston ferns enjoy bright, indirect sunlight and hot, humid temperatures. They do not like their soil to dry out or cold drafts.
Using a spray bottle is another effective way to add humidity to the air around your fern. Spritz them 1-3 times a week depending on how dry your air quality is.
Ferns come in a variety of types, which has made me want to collect them all! Warning your new hobby may be addictive! #plantaddict
Palms or Arecaceae
Lady palm, Bamboo palm, and Areca palms are the best air purifiers. These palms are all-around good air purifiers and Areca has the added benefit of increasing humidity in the air.
Neanthe Bella palm or Parlor Palm are also air purifying, and they act as filters for the air. All palm types help to clean the air we breathe.
Palms like bright, indirect light, but will also tolerate moderate, indirect light.
Many types of palms will tolerate a wide range of lighting. It is not necessary to put your palms outside in summer, you can just keep them in a sunny window. In the wintertime, place them in an area with grow lamps, but not directly under them. Filtered light is best.
Bonus: and the #1 air purifying plant:
Drum roll, please!
Chrysanthemums, more commonly known as Mums, are the top-ranked overall air-purifying house plant. They are known to eliminate toxins as well as ammonia from our air.
Mums are most usually seen in autumn displaying their fall-colored blooms but can also thrive indoors in a pot. So, bring your Mums in at the end of the growing season and let them clean the air in your house.
Collecting house plants has been a rewarding and therapeutic experience for me for many years now, and it can be for you as well. Knowing that not only are house plants a beautiful addition to your home décor, but also help purify the air we breathe is certainly a good reason for everyone to start a house plant collection.
I hope you enjoyed learning more about what plants can do for our air.
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