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Breathe easier by adding the right plants to your living space – Metro US

Breathe easier by adding the right plants to your living space

Are there certain kinds of plants that improve indoor air quality? – Jeremy of Toronto

Believe it or not, NASA created a list of the best air-filtering plants. Decorate your home or office with a combination of spider plants, peace lilies, snake plants (aka mother-in-law’s toungue), elephant ears, weeping figs, rubber plants, or bamboo palms (aka reed palm). All of these are some of the most popular house plants, so they’ll be easy to find, and they’re also easy to care for.

Back in the 1980s, NASA did a study to look at which plants were best able to filter the air of the space station! And if it’s good enough for the space station…

You don’t have to be an astronaut to know that plants produce oxygen. But what you might not realize is that indoor plants can also absorb contaminants like benzene and formaldehyde (a known carcinogen). Dr. B.C Wolverton’s research also showed that plant-filtered rooms have 50 to 60 per cent less airborne microbes, like mold spores and bacteria.

Get rid of any fake, silk plants—they only collect dust—and harness the environment’s natural ability to clean itself. You can also check the library for a more exhaustive list in Dr. B. C. Wolverton’s book, How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 houseplants that purify your home or office.

David Suzuki Foundation
Lindsay Coulter gives you the straight goods on living green. Send your questions to queenofgreen@metronews.ca. For more great tips, visit The David Suzuki Foundation at davidsuzuki.org.