Best Air-Purifying Plants

Plants add to your home’s decor, bringing in greenery and texture, and they also help clean your indoor air. While they aren’t as efficient as an air purifier or HEPA filter, they do work to increase the oxygen levels within your home and help filter out toxins and contaminants.
During the mid-20th century, NASA researchers discovered this fantastic ability when they were trying to find ways to clean the air aboard space stations while on extended space missions.
How Do Plants Purify the Air?
Plants help to clean the air while they are photosynthesizing. They pull in carbon dioxide from the air around the leaves and convert it into oxygen, which they release for us to breathe. At the same time, when they take the carbon dioxide in, they trap compounds like benzene, formaldehyde, smoke, viruses, and dust in a process known as phytoremediation.
Plant Characteristics to Look For
  • The plant has large leaves or lots of leaves with significant leaf surface area. The more surface area, the more stomata for gas exchange.
  • The plant grows quickly. The quicker it grows, the more the plant needs to photosynthesize to produce energy, and the more gas exchange occurs (e.g., the air is taken in to filter out toxins, and oxygen is given off).
The Best Air-Purifying Plants for Your Home
Three of the best air-purifying plants are spider plants, snake plants, and aloe vera. These three plants are also relatively easy to grow, so you shouldn’t have much trouble keeping them alive, even if you’re a beginner or profess to have a black thumb.
If you’re looking to branch out beyond those three, don’t worry; plenty of other great plants help clean your air. The following air-purifying plants encompass various sizes, leaf shapes, statures, and colors to accent any decor:
 
  • Chrysanthemum
  • English ivy
  • Bamboo palm
  • Money plant
  • Flamingo lily
  • Red-edged dracaena
  • Boston fern
  • Calathea
  • Croton
  • Golden pothos
  • Chrysanthemum
  • Parlor palm
  • Peace lily
  • Chinese evergreen
  • Kentia palm
  • ZZ plant
  • Dumb cane
  • Areca palm
  • Weeping fig
  • Rubber plants