Top air-cleaning plants to have at home

Not only do they make your space feel more natural, alive, and inviting, but plants are pretty awesome to have around as they purify the air we breath, reducing allergy irritants and raise the humidity level – something our skin and lungs will be seriously grateful for in the dry months. Added bonus – plant have been shown to boost general wellness, reduce stress, and help people recover faster from illness! Here are some of the top air purifying plants to have around:

Philodendron

A workhorse for filtering out lots of airborne toxins that your furniture or flooring could be emitting, the humble philodendron is a climbing vine can make its way all the way to the ceiling if you give it something to climb. Beware though, the leaves are toxic if ingested by pets.

Geranium

If you’ve got a sunny windowsill and love flowers, then go for the humble Geranium, which not only looks beautiful and has broad, fragrant leaves, but quietly filters out benzene – often found in detergent, glue, plastics and paint. Consider this one if you have curious pets, the leaves smell too strong for them so there’ll be no chewing when you’re not looking!

Bamboo Palm

Easy and elegant, this tall tree-like plant is a great one for adding moisture to the air, and doesn’t need direct sunlight to thrive. It’ll clear nasty airborne toxins and can grow into an real exotic eyecatcher.

Golden Pothos

This is a fast-growing vine that work really well from a hanging basket. Lots of big shiny, green leaves will stay healthy even in really low-light conditions, and it’s a powerful air cleaner too.

Mother-in-law’s Tongue

Also known as ‘Snake Plant’ is good at sucking formaldehyde out of the air – a chemical found in cosmetics and cleaning products. Bonus – it converts CO2 into oxygen at night, so this is a good one to have in the bedroom!

Aloe

Want a hard-working plant for your windowsill? Aloe is easy to grow, is great at filtering out pollutants in the air, and the gel inside the leaves is a great natural healer of burns and cuts.

Photo credit: The4thMonkey.com