In your quest to improve your interior environment, house plants pull double -- or even triple -- duty. First, they bring a soothing, natural atmosphere into a room. Second, many kinds of house plants actually help cleanse the air of harmful indoor pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene, the dominant pollutants in newer homes and office buildings. Third, potted plants like herbs and aloe vera provide fresh ingredients for cooking (the herbs) and healing (aloe vera is often used to soothe burns and bug bites).
Visit your local nursery and pick out a few plants that suit your home. Make sure you check on the kind of care your plants will need -- how much sunlight they'll need, how often they'll need water, and so on. Don't neglect the little guys!
Plants for Healthy Homes
According to NASA research, these plants clean indoor air of harmful pollutants:
- Aloe vera
- Bamboo palm
- Gerbera daisy
- Peace lily
- Spider plant