The Best Apartment Plants for Clean Air

The best apartment plants for clean air are ones that purify the air and make your home feel more like home. Houseplants and air plants can do wonders to improve indoor air quality while adding character and beauty to any space. They also offer many benefits such as improving moods, reducing stress levels, and lowering blood pressure; all while filtering out common household toxins.

How can plants help clean the air?

Plants naturally help to purify the air because they emit oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. In fact, NASA research shows that 15-18 per cent of the best apartment plants for clean air can purify indoor air and remove toxins such as; formaldehyde (found in building materials), benzene (a common industrial solvent found in gasoline) and trichloroethylene (commonly found in paints and adhesives). The best apartment plants for clean air are ones that can filter toxins, while also adding oxygen to the surrounding environment.

Plants also emit phytoncides that help break down harmful chemicals in our homes such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene (found in plastics and coil cleaners), styrene (found in rubber and plastics) and toluene (a chemical found in paints, adhesives, varnishes, lacquers).

In addition to the best apartment plants for clean air that naturally emit oxygen into your home or office space while also filtering toxins; there are some best indoor houseplants and best indoor plants that naturally emit certain chemicals to clean the air of your space. 

Best Small Apartment Plants For Clean Air

The key to apartment plants is ones that do their bit to clean the air but also are relatively small in size, as most apartments are a little challenged on the free space issue. The good news is that some plants definitely tick the boxes.

There are some best small air-purifying plants, which can’t be beaten in terms of their impact on your indoor environment. One great best apartment plant is the spider plant or Chlorophytum comosum. It’s actually one of my favourite best apartment plants; it has long arching grass-like leaves and best of all, a baby spider plant will pop up from the mother’s pot!

Another popular houseplant that works well for air purifying is the Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema). Also known by the name of peace lily, it has beautiful dark green leaves that are shaped like spears; they grow upwards to around about 50cm high with white flowers appearing in the summertime.

Another small houseplant is the Bamboo palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii). This is one for clean air is one of the best houseplants you can have regardless of your home’s size. It’s also known as rex-the king, bamboo or reed palm and it has green waxy leaves that are around about 50cm long.

Best Small Indoor Plants That Naturally Emit Terpenes

In addition to the best small plants for clean air that emit oxygen into your home or office space while also filtering toxins; there are some best indoor plants and best indoor houseplants that naturally emit certain chemicals to clean the air of your space.

These best plants release terpenes, which are a group of organic compounds found in essential oils made from plants; some that fall into this group include:

• Tea plants
• Thyme (herb)
• Spanish sage
• Citrus fruits such as lemon or orange

Best Big Apartment Plants For Clean Air

While we are on about apartment plants, let’s talk about the best big plants for clean air. Some of these best large indoor houseplants are easy to care for, are great landscape plants and have a significant impact on your overall environment.

While they might take up more space than most small plants, certainly aren’t too difficult to look after – especially if you are into the best low light or indirect sunlight types of plant.  A few good examples of larger plants that help remove those air pollutants include:

• Areca palm
• Snake plant
• Cactus
• Red-Edged Dracaena

Choosing the best apartment plants

Choosing apartment plants that help purify the air is a balancing act between what you have room for and what works well for your lifestyle. Some plants can be pretty needy, but most of these are easy to care for and have simple, basic requirements. As an added bonus, they also help in different ways to improve the air quality of the apartment and reduce those airborne toxins.