Looking for the best air cleaning houseplants?
You’re in the right place!
Thanks to the Nasa Clean Air Study, we now know which are the best air cleaning houseplants that you can buy and you’ll be extra pleased to know that practically all of them are virtually indestructible.
Of course, All plants improve the air quality of our homes but some are far more effective at doing it than others.
What Toxins Do These Best Air Cleaning Houseplants Remove?
- Benzene: A carcinogen which is a component of gasoline.
- Formaldehyde: An irritant causing gas found in many household products & glues
- Trichloroethylene: Found in Industrial Solvents
- Xylene: A highly flammable liquid found in cleaning agents, varnish & gasoline
- Toluene: A liquid often found in glue, paint, paint thinners & nail polish remover
- Ammonia: A gas found in industrial fertilizers & present in some cleaning products
A Breath Of Fresh Air
While these plants are excellent natural air filters that excel in removing nasties from our environment, they’re also great for making you feel better…
There’s nothing quite like bringing the outside into your home to help lift your mood… and your home decor will thank you for it too 😉
The best thing about these plants, aside from their health benefits… is that they are all super easy to care for!
So if you’ve always lacked green thumbs like me, don’t panic! I promise you’ll have a really hard time trying to kill any of these gorgeous plants!
So, without further ado, let’s take a look…
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12 Best Air Cleaning Houseplants
#1 Spider Plant
Plant Care: Spider plants are super adaptable & easy to grow! Water your Spider plant well but allow it to dry out a little between waterings to prevent the soil becoming soggy.
Light: Spider plants love bright light but not direct sunlight.
Can You Kill It: You’ll have a tough job killing a Spider plant so they’re perfect for you if you don’t have a green thumb!
Cleans From The Air: Formaldehyde, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Non-Toxic
#2 Devil’s Ivy
Plant Care: The Devil’s Ivy is a vigorous climber that doesn’t need a lot of attention. Plant in a well-draining pot & water when dry. Don’t worry if you forget to water it once in a while… it probably won’t even notice!
Light: The Devil’s Ivy prefers a bright location but not in direct sunlight.
Can You Kill It: Not easily!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#3 Peace Lily
Plant Care: The Peace Lily is an adaptable houseplant that requires little maintenance. Look for a slight drooping of its leaves when it’s ready to be watered… you can also lightly spritz its leaves in the summer.
Light: Place your Peace Lily in a location where it has light to partial shade… If you notice the leaves turning yellow or brown it’s letting you know that it needs more shade!
Can You Kill It: Not easily!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene, Toluene, Ammonia
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#4 English Ivy
Plant Care: The English Ivy is one of the best air cleaning houseplants that requires little attention. Water it frequently in the winter to keep its soil moist and give its leaves a light spritzing of water too!
Light: Place your English Ivy in low, filtered light and away from drafts!
Can You Kill It: The English Ivy is another toughie that you’ll find really hard to kill!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#5 Bamboo Palm
Plant Care: The Bamboo palm doesn’t take much looking after. It likes to have evenly watered soil… only water when dry & don’t leave it sitting in water as this will cause root rot.
Light: The Bamboo Palm likes a bright location with filtered sunlight.
Can You Kill It: This plant can withstand a ton of abuse… but still, you shouldn’t deliberately be mean to him!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Non-Toxic!
#6 Variegated Snake Plant
Plant Care: Also known as ‘Mother in laws tongue’ this plant is probably one of the toughest houseplants known to man! Only water when dry and be extra cautious to not over-water your snake plant in the winter.
Light: The Snake plant can tolerate many light conditions but is best placed in filtered light.
Can You Kill It: Ha… never!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#7 Red-Edged Dracaena
Plant Care: This beautiful Dragon Tree can grow up to 8 foot & loves to be watered but only when dry.
Light: Place in a bright location but not in direct sunlight to avoid burning the leaves.
Can You Kill It: You could mostly neglect this plant & it will still keep growing!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene, Xylene, Toluene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#8 Rubber Plant
Plant Care: There are a few more steps to care for the Rubber plant than the plants above, but it’s not difficult to look after… This tree can grow to 50ft! When the rubber tree is in growing season it needs to be kept moist, however, when it is dormant it’s best to only water once or twice a month.
Light: The Rubber Plant likes bright filtered light & to be kept out of direct sunlight!
Can You Kill It: This plant can withstand a ton of abuse.
Cleans From The Air: Formaldehyde
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#9 Janet Craig
Plant Care: The Janet Craig plant is another toughie that can put up with people who don’t have green thumbs! Be sure to only water once the soil gets dry as this plant doesn’t do well with soggy soil!
Light: The Janet Craig plant can grow in low light but prefers bright filtered light.
Can You Kill It: The Janet Craig plant is a force to be reckoned with!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#10 Aloe Vera
Plant Care: The Aloe Vera plant is a beautiful succulent that’s easy to grow & look after. Only water when the top 1-2inches of soil is dry… it likes a good soaking once in a while but can live without water for months… be aware that you can use the gel from the leaves topically but do not ingest as it can be really harmful.
Light: The Aloe plant prefers bright, filtered light.
Can You Kill It: This plant won’t hold it against you if you forget to water it once in a while.
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#11 Warneckei
Plant Care: You’ll find the Warneckei plant really easy to care for. Water every one to two weeks!
Light: Place in bright filtered light. Placing in direct sunlight will lead to the leaves turning brown.
Can You Kill It: It’s tricky, to say the least!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde, Trichloroethylene
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
#12 Chinese Evergreen
Plant Care: You’ll only need to water this beautiful low maintenance plant when it’s dry.
Light: Grows well in dim light conditions.
Can You Kill It: Probably not!
Cleans From The Air: Benzene, Formaldehyde
Toxic To Cats & Dogs: Toxic!
Before You Go...
So, as you can see, it’s so easy to get clean, fresh, purified air in your home with these 12 best air cleaning houseplants.
You don’t have to worry about killing them off either as they’re all well known for how robust they are… even at the neglectful hands of those of us with notoriously non-green thumbs!
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