Can Houseplants Improve The Quality Of The Air In Your Home

Back in the 1980s, NASA did a study and found that many houseplants can improve the air quality in a small room in a house. It should then follow that having lots of plants in your home will make a difference in the quality of the air you breathe while in your house. 

If you are prepared to take care of a lot of houseplants and are looking to decorate your home in a natural way then this could make a big difference in your mental and overall health. Of course, it isn’t as simple as just putting some pots with plants around and then enjoying the health benefits. 

You’ll need to choose the plants carefully. In this article, we will go over if there are any true benefits to keeping indoor houseplants as far as healthy air goes and then which plants you should look into. 

Pick the right plants

In that study by NASA, it was found that certain plants had enough of an effect to be noteworthy. In other words, not every plant is going to clean the air. Of course, any plant is better than no plants at all, but some will have more of an impact than others. 

For instance, ficus, and snake plants were singled out by NASA as having properties that took in contaminated air and released pure oxygen in its place thus making the quality of air in the room much better.

There are other plants that are known to at least produce an abundance of oxygen to offset any poor air quality in your home. Chinese evergreen are one such plant. As a bonus, Chinese Evergreens make a beautiful addition to any space. 

Use lots of plants

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your perspective, to clean up the air in your home you need to have a lot of plants. A few plants scattered around the house will look nice, but won’t do much to improve the air quality. 

Make sure to put a plant in any space where it makes sense. Essentially, you want to cover up any negative space with a plant to make your rooms a sea of green. If you pick the right plants as far as their purifying power goes then the results will be felt immediately. 

If you’re going for an aesthetic approach over the oxygen emissions then you will see less of an effect, but will enjoy cleaner and fresher air than you would if you didn’t have any plants at all.

They lower stress

Aside from any air purifying prowess a plant may have, one thing is certain. That is that they can help reduce stress. The caring for plants combined with the sense of being in nature when your house is full of plants lowers cortisol levels and helps reduce stress. 

If you are looking for a pick me up then pick up a few plants to decorate your house interior.