The Best Plants for a Healthy Home
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Written By: Brianna Snyder
You’ve probably heard by now that Millennials treat their plants like children. It could be the threat of climate change or the migration into urban living, but everyone’s filling their homes with green things.
That’s good for aesthetics, but plants are also wonderful for your health, purifying the air, decreasing stress, and increasing positivity. Some plants do this better than others—here are a few that are excellent for your health and your pretty home.
Aloe
Aloe vera removes formaldehyde from the air, which, I know—there’s formaldehydein the air? There is, and aloe helps clear it out. Plus, when you break the plant open, you can use its gel to treat sunburns, psoriasis, and other skin problems.
English Ivy
This star-shaped plant is another formaldehyde filterer; it’s actually considered the number-one air-filtering plant, and great for people who are sensitive to smoke.
Bamboo Palm
This shade-lover is another chart-topper for air filtering. It’s known for clearing out both benzene (found in cigarette smoke) and trichloroethylene (a chemical found in metals).
Rubber plant
Rubber plants are perfect for underexperienced plant parents. They require minimum attention and sunlight and they’re resilient—they do pretty well even when underwatered. These plants clean by doing what plants do best: turning your carbon dioxide breath into yummy, breathable oxygen. They can also reduce bacteria and mold in a room by up to 60 percent. Plus, these beauties can grow up to 8 feet tall.
Golden pothos
Golden pothos are lovely, climbing plants great for taking your bad exhales and making them good inhales. And! They help eliminate odors. But, interestingly, while the golden pothos is great for your body and your home health, they are toxic when ingested. So just look at it. Don’t eat it.
Philodendron
Another plant that’s easy to care for, the philodendron is a super-popular houseplant that’s even got NASA’s approval. This is another toxic-when-ingested one, though, so while it’s clearing your air of nasty chemicals (formaldehyde again!), you’ll want to keep it up high, away from beloved pets and children.