The health experts are advising people to stay at home to avoid the risk of getting infected by the life-threatening COVID19 disease. What if, your home environment is also polluted?
The indoor air quality of your home can be hazardous due to several reasons like density of population, synthetic household materials, kitchen smoke, tobacco smoke, word burning, coal burning, waste disposal, dung, various other chemical compounds like gasoline, aerosols, paint, ink, rubber, detergent, etc.
In 1989, NASA Clean Air Study identified the best air purifying plants which can improve the air quality of an indoor space. Read this article to know about some of these beneficial filtering houseplants.
Best Air Purifying Plants to Grow Inside Home/Office
English Ivy (Hedera Helix)
If you want to adorn a table, wall, shelf, balcony, or corner space of your apartment, plant English Ivy. NASA’s Clean Air Study discovered that English Ivy can filtrate the indoor-air from toxic elements such as xylene, benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, etc which often caused sickness.
Best Air Filtrating PlantDuring the pandemic situation, English ivy is no less than a blessing as it relaxes the airways and helps to reduce coughs. Moreover, Ivy can reduce mold in your house.
For healthy growth, this ever green perennial plant with vines requires bright light – not direct sunlight. Don’t forget to water this plant if the soil gets dry. During hot summer, mist the whole plant.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)
If you are searching for a houseplant to grow in an apartment lacking enough sunlight, pick Spathiphyllum or peace Lily. According to Nasa’s study regarding air purifying indoor plants, Peace lily can efficiently eliminate airborne hazardous pollutants such as, formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethylene etc.
This air purifying indoor plant can also check the growth of molds in your home or office. However, don’t let your child or pet ingest any part of this plant; as it’s a bit poisonous. Place this plant in an indoor space with no direct sunlight. Water it when the soil feels dry and mist the leaves during summer.
Snake Plant (Dracaena trifasciata)
Are you looking for an indoor plant to clean the air of your home or workspace? Get a Snake Plant. Requiring less light and water, this house plant can easily grow in any indoor place. What makes this air purifying plant more blissful is its oxygen releasing capability during night-time. If kept in the bedroom, this air-cooling plant can help you sleep better.
According to NASA’s houseplant research, Snake Plant is one of the best plants that can absorb airborne toxic elements, such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, nitrogen oxide, xylene, etc. Snake Plant doesn’t require much care, as it survives in low environments without watering for weeks. Allow the soil to fully dry before watering and keep it in indirect sunlight.
Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa)
The beauty of Lady Palm can add life to a monotonous corner of your home or office. With several feet of growth range this ornamental plant can augment the aesthetics of any indoor space or entryway.
NASA’s Clean Air Study revealed that Lady Palm can efficiently purify the indoor air from volatile organic compounds like xylene, formaldehyde, toluene, ammonia, etc.
Lady Palm can survive with low amount of light. But this low-maintenance houseplant requires moist soil with proper drainage to prevent its root from being rotted.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
You may not like a spider at your adorable home, but a Spider Plant can make the indoor ambient more breathable. The NASA’s Clean Air Study found that Spider Plant can efficiently release at removing common household air toxins formaldehyde and xylene.
This beneficial houseplant is fairly easy to maintain. It can grow well under indirect sunlight. So you can place it in any corner of your home, balcony, or workplace. Water this plant time to time keeping the soil moist.
Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
Besides improving the aesthetics of your home or workplace environment, Weeping Fig (Also known as Ficus tree) can contribute in reducing the indoor air quality. According to the ‘Clean Air Study’ carried by NASA, this houseplant is efficiently capable of removing indoor-air toxins such as, formaldehyde and xylene.
Though Ficus can grow fairly tall, you can pick the dwarf varieties for planting inside home. This easy-to-maintain houseplant prefers staying in the same place constantly without frequent relocating. Try to keep it somewhere with access of indirect bright sunlight. And, don’t forget to water it frequently.
Money Plant (Epipremnum aureum)
Though Money Plant (also known as Devil’s Eye) can’t bring you money at your home, it can help saving your money from getting ill due to indoor air pollution. This evergreen house plant can filtrate indoor pollutants like toluene, formaldehyde, benzene, trichloroethene, xylene, etc.
Due to amazing survival instinct, this houseplant won’t die easily. This houseplant can decorate your work desk, table or shelf by virtue of its marvelous heart-shaped green leaves bearing yellowish-white hues.
This common houseplant won’t require much maintenance. You can keep this plant somewhere without direct sunlight. Water this plant frequently to keep the soil moisturized.
Tips to Care Your Air Filtrating Houseplant
– Keep your air-purifying indoor plant in a place with the availability of indirect sunlight and air.
– Don’t place a houseplant in a closed place blocked by curtains or other objects.
– Keep the houseplant away from electronic home appliances such as fridge, AC, etc which releases hot/cool air.
– Water your plant regularly depending on the nature of specific houseplant. However, over-watering can harm the root leading to kill the plant.
– Clean dust from the leaves of your houseplant which would help it to flourish.
– Add proper nutrients to the soil besides watering and cleaning.
– Regular pruning and trimming will make your houseplant look tidy, and right-sized.
Online Nurseries to Buy Indoor Plant in Bangladesh:
You can buy air filtrating houseplants online from the following websites.
http://www.bonayon.com/Indoor-Plant
https://greengardenbd.com/product-category/ornamental-plant/indoor-plant/
http://www.nurseryvilla.com/
source: UNB
