Indoor Plants That Clean Air and Don't Need Much Care
According to NASA
In the 80's, NASA commissioned a study to see how certain indoor plants affect air quality (presumably to research decor for the ISS). The study concluded that many common indoor plants do in fact have a significant impact on air quality in indoor spaces, which, awesome.
This list compiles the plants from that study that were found to be both highly effective air purifiers and easy to care for -- meaning you have no excuse to not plant up and start breathing cleaner air today.
1. Snake Plant
The snake plant will grow in pretty much any conditions, and needs water only occasionally. It doesn't get much easier than this, and on top of that, the snake plant will clean most everything out of the air.
2. Spider Plant
Spider plants do well in medium to bright light and require moderate watering. They are awesome as hanging plants and can be grown from cuttings of mature plants, which is kind of badass.
3. English Ivy
Best grown in moderate temperatures and medium sunlight, English Ivy is #1 on NASA's list of air filtering plants. It'll take care of all of your benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, and toluene filtering needs. It's also a very classy looking plant. Winning all around.
4. Rubber Tree
Rubber trees prefer medium to bright light and don't need much water. They also grow up to 8 feet tall, and are pretty pro at getting rid of all that formaldehyde that your cleaning products spew into the air.
5. Peace Lily
Peace lilies prefer low light and moderate watering, making them great for houses and apartments with few windows (like mine!). They also filter out everything English Ivy does, plus ammonia, and sport beautiful white flowers when in bloom. Can't go wrong here.
6. Areca Palm
Areca palms do well in indirect light, and only need water once every other week or so. They also grow up to 7 feet and go a long way towards achieving that tropical vibe that'll get you through the winter.
Want to make your own list?