Your indoor air carries toxins that are not great for your health. But don’t despair, Mother Nature is on it.
In the late 1980s, NASA conducted a study on plants that help take out toxins found in indoor air: trichloroethylene (inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes, adhesives), formaldehyde (paper products like bags, towels napkins, synthetic fibers and facial tissues), benzene (dyes, detergents, glue, paint), xylene (rubber, leather) and ammonia (window cleaner, floor wax, smelling salts, fertilizers).
The study tested more than a dozen plants and their effectiveness of removing the toxins from the air. While the study shows toxins were removed, it did pinpoint that the majority of the removal came from the soil and root system of the plants along with a carbon filter used. Later studies acknowledge the benefits of plants on air quality but mention more research is needed:
But as has been shown with many natural remedies, “natural” does not necessarily equate to “absolutely harmless.” A study by Kays and colleagues published in 2009 pointed out that some houseplants—as well as the media and plastic pots they are grown in, the microorganisms that inhabit them, and the pesticides used to treat them—can potentially contaminate indoor air with VOCs.16 “It is not yet possible to project the true potential of plants for purifying indoor air,” Kays says. “At this time the role of plants, though appearing [generally] positive, is not totally clear. The absence of funding for phytoremediation research has greatly impeded solving the problem.”
Source: Planting Healthier Indoor Air by Luz Claudio, Oct. 2011, Environ Health Perspect
Whether it comes from the leaves, the roots, the soil or the filtration system you have, plants, in some fashion, do help with air quality (and they make your home look nice). Here are the top 10 plants that may improve your indoor air quality according to B.C. Wolverton, Ph.D, principal investigator on the 1989 NASA study.
Arcea Palm
Lady Palm
Bamboo Palm
Rubber Plant
Dracaena
English Ivy
Dwarf Date Palm
Ficus
Boston Fern
Peace Lily
