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Love Your Lungs: Grow Your Own Air Cleaners

By Staff

NASA studies in  the 1980s proved what your great-granny always knew: Houseplants are a good thing. All plants absorb carbon dioxide (what you exhale) and release oxygen (what you want to inhale).  Some plants also absorb benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

The big YES goes to:

  • Variegated Snake Plant [aka mother-in-law’s tongue] (Sansevieria)
  • Golden Pothos
  • Peace Lily
  • Spider Plant
  • Ferns (Boston, Kimberly Queen)
  • English Ivy
  • Philodendrons (Heartleaf, Selloum, Elephant ear)
  • Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina)
  • Rubber Plant (Ficus Elastica)
  • Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia)
  • Aloe Vera
  • Chinese Evergreen

Recommended dose: One decent-sized plant per 100 sq. ft. Paradise Palm and Cactus & Tropicals have nice selections. You can also often find them in grocery stores.

 

View the full “Love Your Lungs” article here.

This article was originally published on February 7, 2017.