When you’re cooped up inside your house during the winter, do you ever wonder about the quality of the air you are breathing? To be honest, I never did until I read the results of a study produced by NASA that showed indoor pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, xylene, toluene, and ammonia can be reduced simply and easily with houseplants.

You can’t see or smell these pollutants, but they emanate from carpeting, paint, household cleaners, pressed-wood products, insulation, and glues and adhesives.  These indoor pollutants can also build up (especially when your home is sealed tight during the winter) and can aggravate asthma, allergies, and other illnesses.

But, thanks to NASA we now know there’s a simple solution to cleaner air—houseplants. And, what’s interesting is that some plants actually do a better job than others when it comes to scrubbing the air. NASA’s top picks include English ivy, peace lily (below left), golden pothos (left), Boston fern, snake plant, spider plant, lady palm, Madagascar dragon tree, bamboo palm, and any one of the many wonderful varieties of Dracaena deremensis.  Additional plants that work well include: Chinese evergreen, ZZ plant, dieffenbachia, and philodendron.

The NASA report also says that you should add one plant per 100 square feet of home or office space in order to remove toxins efficiently. And, they remind us that all plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and produce the oxygen we need to live.

In our home, we’ve always had plants in every room, but we just never realized how much they were contributing to our overall health. So, maybe it’s time you head to your local garden center and adopt a few of these life-giving beauties for your home.

You’ll breathe easier if you do.

Written by Doug Jimerson