English Ivy is one of the most effective houseplants at filtering airborne mold particles, with studies suggesting it filters up to 78% of airborne mold in 12 hours.
Plants for Indoor Air Quality
Based on NASA's study, these are some of the best plants for air purification (in no particular order): Purple Waffle Plant (Hemigraphis exotica) Gerber Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) Boston Fern† (Nephrolepis exaltata bostoniensis)
While technically both plants and purifiers clean the air, air purifiers are the obvious winner for literal air cleaning purposes. Considering the sheer amount of plants needed in your space to appreciably reduce VOC and indoor pollution levels, they can't be recommended.
NASA recommends one plant every 100 square feet - which is about 9.2 square metres. In a home of about 1800 square feet in size (roughly 167 square metres), NASA recommends 15-18 houseplants.
Some plants may release VOCs into the air. The soil may have bacteria, pesticides or other contaminants. While plants can be beneficial, the evidence does not show that they are an effective tool to reduce air pollution.
Aloe Vera is a popular indoor plant that produces oxygen 24 hours a day. It is easy to care for succulents with thick, fleshy leaves that are filled with a gel-like substance. Aloe Vera is known for its many medicinal properties and has been used for centuries to treat skin conditions, digestive issues, and more.
Use a bleach solution of no more than 1 cup (8 ounces) household laundry bleach per 1 gallon of water to kill mold on surfaces.
English Ivy
It is a great filter of air toxins and gets rid of 78 percent of airborne mold in twelve hours! This plant helps fight common mold that presents as green and black spots found in moist corners of homes. Ivy is also particularly good for allergy sufferers as it removes toxins from the air.
Mold hates light. Other than moisture there's nothing mold loves more than dark places.
The impact of different VOCs was inconsistent across studies, as was the performance of different plant species. But they said that in 196 experiments, plants were able to clean an average of 0.062 cubic meters of air per plant per hour, which is only about 13% of the half a cubic meter we breathe at the same time.
Outdoor plants like Tulsi and English Ivy need full sun and daily watering. Outdoor air purifying plants like Aloe Vera and Areca Palm should be watered well every 2-3 days. Indoor plants like peace lily and spider plant need watering on alternative days, and need to placed in good light.
Raising plants indoors is a home-healthy move because of their ability to clean the air of carbon dioxide, but their benefits don't stop there. According to several studies, the average houseplant can remove formaldehyde, benzene, and a host of other toxins that plague typical indoor air.
Plants in the home do an excellent job at providing more oxygen, which not only rids of the stuffy, old, and stale air, but also increases thinking, focus, and restful sleep. With large amounts of fresh air helping the brain, people often generate more creative ideas and focus for longer amounts of time.
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA), which tested the abilities of three common houseplants to remove formaldehyde from the air, found in preliminary tests that spider plants were the champs, removing 95 percent of the toxic substance from a sealed Plexiglas chamber in 24 hours.
Philodendrons (including heart-leaf, elephant ear, and sellous philodendrons) are all effective air-purifying plants. Philodendrons filter toxins including: formaldehyde.
Lucky for us, the plants can also help clean indoor air on Earth, which is typically far more polluted than outdoor air. The Spider Plant, or Chlorophytum comosum, is possibly the most popular house plant. NASA places this plant among the top 3 types of houseplants that are great at removing formaldahyde.
There are many solutions that you can boil to help sanitize the air. As previously mentioned, bowling vinegar can help to eliminate odors in the air. Further, you can use herbs and essential oils in boiling water to help naturally purify the air in your home, and replace it with a fresh smell of your choosing.
Simple things you can do to improve your indoor air quality include: Reduce dust by vacuuming regularly and using a microfiber or damp cloth for dusting. Reduce humidity to avoid mold and mildew buildup and change appliance filters regularly. And make sure to test your home for dangerous gases like radon.