The Best House Plants to Clean Indoor Air & Provide Oxygen

 

The Best House Plants to Clean Indoor Air & Provide Oxygen

 

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1. • Plants such as the Bamboo Palm help clean indoor air. 

     House plants do more than just make your room look warm and inviting. They can actually make your home feel different, as they can help clean the air from contaminants such as formaldehyde, xylene, benzene and carbon monoxide that fill many homes. While house plants clean air, they also provide oxygen, with many requiring little care. According to the University of Connecticut, scientists at NASA designed experiments to examine the effects on which houseplants will help clean indoor air.

   Bamboo Palm

   • The Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) helps remove trichloroethylene from the air. To grow the Bamboo Palm as a house plant, a room with ample sunlight is needed. Bamboo Palms need six hours of sunlight per day to remain healthy, and are temperamental about watering. If the leaves are turning yellow, it may indicate that you are over-watering. Mist Bamboo Palms daily, as they love high humidity. Fertilize with a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

   English Ivy

   • English Ivy (Heeder helix), which helps remove benzene from the air, is a climbing house plant which can grow on a trellis or topiary. English Ivy is an easy house plant to grow, and grows well in a room where the temperatures are 50 degrees F at night and around 70 degrees F during the day. Fertilize the English Ivy every month while it is actively growing, but do not fertilize in the heat of summer or during its winter rest period. The English Ivy has hundreds of cultivars, with leaves varying from less than 1 inch to over 3 inches in length.

   Heart Leaf Philodendron

   • The Heart Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron scan dens 'oxycardium'), which helps remove formaldehyde from the air, is a low-maintenance house plant which is able to live in low light and neglect. It has heart-shaped leaves that range from 2 to 4 inches in length. Some leaves are glossy green while other leaves feel like textured velvet. Grow the Heart Leaf Philodendron in rooms that are around 70 to 75 degrees F.

   Spider Plant

   • The Spider Plant (Chlorophytum Como sum) is a simple houseplant to grow, and helps remove xylene, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide from the air. Most Spider Plants grow in hanging baskets with their spiders hanging over the sides of the pot. The leaves look like long blades of grass, although some varieties have striped leaves of yellow or white. Small white flowers and miniature plant-lets, or spiders, appear on long wiry stems. If you put the plant-lets into a small pot of soil, they will develop roots. The Spider Plant grows well in temperatures of 65 to 75 degrees F during the day and 10 degrees lower at night. Place the pot where the plants receive bright indirect sunlight. If you keep the soil too wet or too dry, Spider Plants are more susceptible to spider mites, scales, aphids and white flies.

   Mother-in-Law's Tongue

   • Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurent'), or "Snake Plant," helps remove formaldehyde from the air. Mother-in-Law's Tongue, which is a member of the century plant family, is almost indestructible and will grow in the most adverse conditions. Its leaves are fleshy and sword-like, with either gray cross bands or yellow bands on the leaves. Depending on the variety chosen, the leaves can grow from 6 inches to 4 feet in length. It prefers to be pot bound and needs little to no fertilizing.