12 Houseplants & Flowers That Soak Up Toxic Chemicals & Pollutants (and give you more pure oxygen)

We can go 3 weeks or so (quite a while) without food and still survive depending on the person and we can go about 3 days without water but we can only go 3 minutes without oxygen before we no longer live. It’s obvious that oxygen is the most vital nutrient for your survival and it is slowly being reduced in our environment because of smog, pollution and everything else that goes on in the city. We’re being bombarded with toxins through our air and each year cities seem to have lower measured air quality than the year before. Most of us have taken little or no steps to improve our air quality and to have more pure healthy oxygen in our homes.

What can you do? Move to the wild country or do what you can where you are now. What you can do is put the right houseplants in your home to produce to take in carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and produce oxygen for you to breathe. Did you know that the percentage of oxygen levels in metropolitan cities change from year to year and that it has typically gotten worse over time. If you live in a city with a lot of industry and smog then getting houseplants and placing them throughout your home is one of the smartest things you can do to improve your indoor air quality.

Plants are natural air purifiers, that’s what they do. If we started planting the plants listed below by the thousands in cities filled with industrial air pollution and smog we would restore healthier levels of oxygen in the environment again and we would all benefit.

The Top Indoor Plants For Air Purification And Quality

(each plant is clickable below for more info, pics and to purchase)

1. Spider Plant: The spider plant helps to filter benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene, which is a solvent used in the leather, rubber and printing industries. It’s also great because this plant is also considered a safe houseplant if you have pets in the house.

2. Snake Plant: This plant is formaldehyde filtering plants and can thrive in a low light humid environment so it’s a great plant for the bathroom. This plant is also known as mother-in-laws tongue, I have no idea why though!

3. Gerber Daisy (Flower): This is an orange flowering plant that helps remove trichloroethylene and benzene. It’s a beautiful orange flower that will add a nice glow to any room.

4. Golden Pothos: This green leaf vine plant works well to hang in a basket. It keeps it’s bright green color even in the dark and is another great plant that filters formaldehyde which is preeminent in everything from memory foam mattresses to car exhaust.

5. Chrysanthemum (Flower): This is a beautiful pink flower that flourishes best in the sun. When in the sun it encourages the pink buds to bloom. This flower helps to filter benzene which is commonly found in paint, plastics, glue and detergent.

6. Red Edged Dracaena: Believe it or not this plant can grow tall enough to reach your ceiling! I am quite intrigued by that and want to get my own now just to see that jungle grow in action in my living room! It helps to remove xylene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde which can be found in varnishes and gasoline.

7. Azalea (Flower): This white and pink flower helps purify formaldehyde which comes from plywood or foam insulation. It’s a beautiful color that thrives in a cooler environment, around 60-65 degrees fahrenheit so it works well in your basement.

8. Warneck Draceana: This plant grows tall and strong even without direct sunlight. It’s a great plant that adds color and texture to your home and helps remove varnish and oil associated pollutants.

9. Chinese Evergreen: This plant has a beautiful green color and continues to soak up more toxins and pollutants as the plant grows. It’s adds a unique color and style to your home!

10. Bamboo Palm: This tropical plant adds jungle rainforest and the feel of the tropics to your home or office. It’s great for filtering trichloroethylene, benzene or formaldehyde from off-gassing furniture.

11. Peace Lily: This green plant produces a beautiful white bud and flower and is on Nasa’s top of the list for removing the top three VOCs, formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene. It can also help remove toluene and xylene.

12. Aloe Vera: The Aloe vera plant is not only good for keeping your skin healthy and healing sunburn but it’s also a great air purifying plant. Aloe helps purify formaldehyde and benzene which is often found in chemical cleaners and paints. It’s a great place to grow in a sunny environment such as the kitchen window!

Here are a few pictures of these plants so you can see the diversity and value of including air purifying plants in your home for beauty and indoor air quality to remove pollutants and chemicals that you’d rather not inhale!