Good houseplants for clean air

A long-time favourite for houseplant lovers, the Peace Lily is one of the top air purifying plants as it can help filter out certain harmful compounds. If you do plan on adding this one to your plant collection, it's worth knowing that it is poisonous to cats and dogs.

Care advice: Peace lilies can tolerate short periods of dry soil, but their leaves will start to brown if neglected for too long. To keep it thriving, place it in bright, indirect light and keep the soil consistently moist.

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With leathery leaves and a pop of colour, the Scarlet Star Bromeliad is a beautiful houseplant that is incredibly long-lasting. As well as helping to clean up the air in your home, these flowering plants love humid environments and are great when placed in the bathroom.

Care advice: Ensure this plant is always well watered, but never soggy. Place your plant in a location with moderate to bright light year-round, avoiding direct sunlight.

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21. Philodendron

Famous for large, glossy green leaves, the Philodendron purifies the air by removing formaldehyde — a chemical compound which tends to occur in building materials. As well as looking beautiful placed at home, you can be sure that it will also clean the air for you.

Care advice: Philodendron care is simple, as the plant can readily adapt to any indoor environment. Ensure it has plenty of sunlight, fertiliser and water.

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22. Calathea

Known for the unique leaf movements of patterned foliage, Calathea plants have an exotic feel that will brighten up any room. With their beautiful yet unique colouring, the Calathea plant purifies the surrounding air by filtering out a multitude of compounds that are poisonous.

Care advice: In order to survive, they need to be placed in a consistently warm and bright spot, yet not in direct light.

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23. ZZ plant (Zanzibar gem)

With its wide, attractive, dark green leaves, this eye-catching houseplant is perfect for a home office. Not only are they hard to kill (perfect for beginners), but these plants work hard to remove toxins such as xylene, toluene and benzene from the air.

Care advice: Zanzibar gems need watering every two to three weeks, however expect to water them more often in brighter light.

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24. Croton

These varied plants are incredibly popular houseplants, loved for their colourful foliage and nearly limitless leaf forms. As well as having some of the boldest and brightest leaves around, Crotons also help to filter out airborne toxins.

Care advice: This is a tropical houseplant, so caring for it involves proper watering and humidity. While it needs frequent watering, too much water can cause root rot.

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25. Dieffenbachia (dumb canes)

The Dieffenbachia is a lush and showy plant with oval leaves that are attractively marked with dark green at the edges. Ideal for creating a tropical look, its foliage takes toxins out of the air, so your family can breathe easier.

Care advice: Dieffenbachias like regular moisture and do not want to dry out, however make sure you don't overwater it.

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26. Clivia

Grown for their bold strap-shaped, dark green leaves, Clivia houseplants are tough, resilient and thrive when neglected. Not only do they purify the air, but they will also produce the most stunning bright orange blooms.

Care advice: Clivias should be placed in bright, filtered or indirect light. Scorching sunlight may burn the leaves, so place pots away from bright sun and other sources of heat.

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Top 9 indoor plants that perfectly clean the air

To remove dust from the air, you can buy an expensive air conditioner, to humidify it, you need to turn on the steam generator, pleasant smells will spread around the apartment if you spray the air freshener ... Or you can do without these expensive and far from always harmless devices and buy flowers. Many indoor plants, familiar from childhood and seemingly well known, it turns out, can not only decorate the interior, but also purify the air well.

1. Azalea, or rhododendron

Household chemicals depress not only microbes: alas, its fumes also have a bad effect on humans. To prevent the bathroom cleaner cabinet from being your enemy, put a pot of azalea on the shelf: it will absorb ammonia and formaldehyde (don't forget about good lighting). You can also place this flower in the kitchen, since various kinds of detergents and solutions have found a place there as well. In addition, the azalea repels bugs and ants, and, therefore, is able to protect products from them.

Azalea

2. Ivy (chedera)

In addition to the main result - pleasant feelings from the feeling of novelty - carried out at home, repairs can also have a side effect: indisposition from the fumes of paints, varnishes and other chemicals used for interior decoration. Moreover, the emission of gases harmful to health can continue for a long time after the applied coatings have dried. To reduce their unpleasant impact, it is advisable to arrange pots of ivy in the room. It absorbs formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide well (the latter quality makes ivy a very valuable plant in city apartments and helps clean the air from the street).

Ivy

In addition, if there is a cat in the house whose life takes place within four walls - again a classic example of urban housing - then the notorious cat litter box can become a source of allergies for the owners. Therefore, it is worth placing ivy next to it, which is a good trap for allergen microparticles. And an additional bonus will be the allocation of phytoncides to them, which is very useful in the "cold" periods of the year.

3. Chlorophytum

Almighty advertising has convinced us that sterile cleanliness in the kitchen can only be obtained by using powerful cleaning agents. However, she forgot to warn that some of their species emit formaldehyde, a potential carcinogen. So if the housewives are not yet ready to give up household chemicals, then they should place five or six pots of chlorophytum in the kitchen, which is able to absorb many toxic substances.

Chlorophytum

In addition, chlorophytum has pronounced antimicrobial properties - it is not for nothing that even astronauts on the ISS breed it, where maintaining cleanliness is much more critical than on earth. There is information that this plant is capable of reducing the number of microbes in the air by almost 10 times per day, which means that its presence in the house is a good help in the fight against viruses that enter the air after someone with a cold sneezes heartily .

4. Rubbery ficus

When buying furniture made of chipboard, do not forget to purchase and place ficus next to the new sofa or wardrobe. Firstly, it will capture from the air and retain such harmful substances as trichlorethylene and formaldehyde (lacquers and paints are “rich” in the first place, synthetic resins used in the production of chipboard are in the second). Secondly, its large leaves are good dust collectors, the main thing is not to forget to wipe them with a damp cloth from time to time. And, thirdly, the ficus actively releases oxygen, which means that it will be easier to breathe in the room.

Ficus

5. Aloe (agave)

Oh, how long ago you tried to throw away this annoying plant with fleshy thick leaves, planted with thorns along the edges! However, before taking the pot to the trash can and shaking the earth out of it, it would be useful to familiarize yourself with the beneficial properties of aloe. And there are many of them: suffice it to mention the ability to capture phenolic and benzene compounds, many of which are pleasant to smell and just as harmful to health. Noteworthy is its ability to fight germs that cause colds.

Aloe

It is best to put the agave pot on the window in the kitchen, because in bright light the plant is at its best. In addition, not only the volatile substances released by aloe are bactericidal, but also its juice: if, for example, you scratched your hand when opening canned food, it is quite capable of replacing brilliant green and disinfecting the cut site with high quality.

6. Dracaena

Like many indoor plants, dracaena has a double effect - firstly, it releases phytoncides that reduce microbial air pollution. In addition, it absorbs carcinogens: formaldehyde - an integral part of artificial resins that are part of finishing materials, trichlorethylene and xylene - types of solvent for paints and varnishes.

Dracaena

In addition, xylene can also be released from plastic, so a planter next to the TV would be a good place for dracaena at home, and in the office - a computer desk.

7. Golden epiprenum, or scindapsus

Formaldehydes, which have been mentioned more than once, can be emitted not only by paint and varnish products, but also by exhaust gases. In addition, car mufflers emit carbon monoxide, so if the garage is adjacent directly to the house (or there is a living room above it), epiprenum can be placed in rooms or corridors, which can absorb them well. However, this plant belongs to the vines, so it needs to be given "space for maneuver": it does not like cramped rooms.

Epiprenum

In addition, epiprenum purifies the air from the vapors of benzene compounds (toluene, xylene), which are emitted by many finishing materials, and well heals the house after repair. Another valuable quality of the plant is its active resistance to microbes, as well as fungi, so it prevents the spread of mold.

8. Chrysanthemum

This delicate flower is well known to florists and gardeners, but few people know that along with beauty it has good filtering and antibacterial properties. Meanwhile, the chrysanthemum well cleans the air of benzene - a constant component of paints, plastics and solvents, absorbs ammonia.

In addition, the owners of a house where indoor chrysanthemums grow are much less at risk of catching a cold: the plant releases phytoncides, which means that there is no place for pathogenic microbes next to it.

Chrysanthemum

9. Dieffenbachia

An apartment in the center of a metropolis or a workroom in an office center with parking for several hundred cars next to it is not the healthiest place to live or work. However, it is possible to reduce the harmful effects of gas pollution, to reduce the percentage of aromatic substances of the benzene series (toluene, benzene, xylene) in the air, if you put a pot of dieffenbachia somewhere in the corner or on a special table.

Dieffenbachia

In addition to the filtering effect, dieffenbachia will help protect against seasonal colds. The fact is that the substances secreted by it cope well with staphylococci - the main cause of influenza, tonsillitis and similar dubious “joys of life”. Flowers for Woman Many adverse substances surround us both inside and outside the house. Therefore, people are increasingly trying to surround themselves with indoor flowers that can purify the air, because everyone remembers from school that plants absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.

Types of harmful compounds in an apartment or house

1. Formaldehyde. Hazard Category 2. Sources are varnishes, plastic utensils, fiberboard, chipboard, carpets, tobacco smoke, etc. Can cause cancer, vision loss, asthma, allergies.
2. Trichlorethylene. It contains various cleaning products, paints, stain removers, cartridges. It acts as the strongest carcinogen, has a damaging effect on the liver, central nervous system, kidneys.
3. Toluene. Hazard class 3. Sources are varnishes and paints, printers and copiers, wallpaper, solvents. It contributes to the deterioration of vision, headaches, causes poisoning of the body and, as a result, nausea and vomiting.
4. Acetone. Hazard class 3. Contained in paints and varnishes, solvents. Affects the CNS.
5. Benzene. Hazard Class 2. Also found in paints and varnishes, surfactants, tobacco smoke. Its action leads to dermatitis, oncology, in particular leukemia, affects internal organs, and causes mental disorders.
6. Ammonia. Sources are tobacco smoke, electronic equipment. It is a neurotoxin. Causes chest pain, swelling of the lungs and respiratory tract. Intense exposure may cause respiratory arrest.

The choice of houseplants for air purification

Houseplants have not only decorative value, but also have irreplaceable properties. They are able not only to saturate the air with oxygen, but also purify from harmful impurities .

It is advised to keep only healthy flowers in apartments. If the flower is sick and languishes, it will not be able to absorb dangerous substances in sufficient quantities. For these purposes, preference is given to plants with large leaves and a dense crown .

In the bedroom, it is recommended to keep flowers that are capable of releasing essential oils, such as geraniums. It promotes healthy sleep, you will forget about insomnia and depression.

It is worth remembering that plants absorb oxygen at night. Therefore, you do not need to put a large number of flowers in the bedroom. Enough 4-5 pots on the windowsill.

It is also important to place potted flowers in the kitchen. This room often contains smoke and soot. Flowers neutralize their effect and purify the air.

It is recommended to keep fragrant flowers in the house. They release more phytoncides, therefore, they purify the air in the house more efficiently.

The most popular plants that purify the air

Aloe

Purification factor 6.5.
Our grandmothers also kept aloe at home. Its juice has medicinal properties, it is widely used in folk medicine. But this is not all the useful properties of this flower.

Aloe very effectively purifies the air in the apartment. It absorbs up to 90% of indoor formaldehyde.

Aloe leaves produce a large amount of phytoncides that affect the human body. Under their influence, the human immunity is strengthened, the mental processes of the brain are improved.

Aloe is easy to care for. Prefers to be placed on a sunny windowsill with shading from direct rays. Since it belongs to succulents, it is enough to water it once a week.

Ficus

Cleaning factor 8.0.
Thanks to its wide, large leaves, ficus is indispensable for purifying the air. It absorbs benzene, formaldehyde and ammonia. In addition, it effectively cleans the air from dust.

Ficus does not require special care. Can grow in partial shade. It needs to be watered 2-3 times a week in summer, once a week in winter. Periodically you need to wipe the leaves from dust.

Sansevieria

Cleaning factor 6.8.
Common people call this plant "mother-in-law's tongue". According to the ability to produce oxygen, sansevieria deservedly occupies one of the first places. But not only this is its value.

Phytoncides of this plant successfully fight streptococci. The latter are capable of causing various inflammatory processes in the body, including the causative agents of tonsillitis, pneumonia, scarlet fever and other serious diseases.

Sansevieria also reduces microbial content in the surrounding air. In addition, it absorbs all kinds of dangerous impurities, with the exception of ammonia.

Care will not be difficult even for the laziest owner. Like all succulents, it does not require frequent watering, it is enough to water it once a week with warm water. In this regard, "mother-in-law's tongue" can often be seen in offices.

Spathiphyllum

Purification factor 7.5
This flower is also known as "women's happiness". Thanks to its wide, dense foliage, the plant is able to cope with many toxins, including ammonia. Spathiphyllum also tends to increase the humidity of the air.

Sufficient flower shade-tolerant, does not require placement on the windowsill . It will grow well in the depths of the room, without losing its useful qualities. Likes abundant watering, once every 2-3 days.

Begonia

Cleaning factor 6. 9.
Excellent against various chemical vapors. With regular use of household chemicals, it is simply necessary to have it on the windowsill.

Begonia prefers partial shade . In summer, watering should be done every 3-4 days, in winter once a week.

Dracaena

Cleaning factor 7.8.
Effectively neutralizes formaldehyde vapors in the room. The plant absorbs particles of trichlorethylene and benzene that enter the room from the street, as well as from cleaning products and household chemicals.

Dieffenbachia

Purification factor 7.3.
The plant fights dangerous substances such as xylene and toluene. They are mainly distinguished by such material as parquet.

If you have parquet floors in your room, dieffenbachia will be a useful addition to the interior. The plant also effectively absorbs formaldehyde.

In care, this flower is quite unpretentious in care. Adapts to any kind of lighting. Watering should be no more than once a week.

Scheffler

Cleaning factor 8.0.
If smokers live in the apartment, it is recommended to pay attention to this particular plant. It absorbs tobacco smoke tar and nicotine.

Scheffler also neutralizes benzene, formaldehyde and toluene.

Flower fits any light . Water moderately, once a week.

Geranium

Geranium also perfectly cleans the air in the house. In addition to the obvious advantages, the plant fights various harmful microorganisms, "sterilizing" the surrounding air. It kills staphylococci and streptococci.

Also flower contains useful essential oils that calm the nervous system and normalize sleep.
Geranium care is not complicated. Provide good lighting and abundant watering.

Chlorophytum

Cleaning factor 7.8.
This plant is necessary primarily for residents of megacities.

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