A man’s home is his castle, but it can also contain air pollutants that are dangerous to kings and queens alike. But don’t panic — festooning your house with the right houseplants can filter out these harmful compounds. According to an in-depth study by NASA, these are the ten best plants to improve indoor air quality.
Devil’s Ivy picture from Shutterstock
The below infographic comes from design firm NeoMam Studios based on a study of interior landscape plants for indoor air pollution abatement conducted by NASA in 1989. While the study is a bit long in the tooth, it’s findings remain relevant to modern households which contain the same air pollutants such as benzene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde.
Handily, the infographic also contains gardening tips for each plant shortlisted in NASA’s study. Check it out below:
[Via: Barrat Homes.]
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5 responses to “The Ten Best Houseplants For Improved Air Quality (According To NASA)”
Peace Lily – also poisonous to little boys
For some reason my little one decided to eat some leaves…
Really good article, but if you have pets make sure you do some research before buying any of these varieties – a large number of them are poisonous to cats and dogs in varying degrees of toxicity.
Hm. I notice that most of the pollutants seem to result in doing work with industrial agents or cleaning agents.
The simplest solution seems to be not cleaning your home and not doing any work while you’re there. In which case, boom! Already there!
That’s no Rhapis excelsa in the graphic. Maybe a Chamaedorea seifrizii. And certainly not a broad-leaf form!
On a more serious note, I echo the concern that most of these are poisonous to pets/kids, either in their sap or foliage. Use with care.
Note to self: Don’t eat plants.