The best house plants to keep your home fresh

Are you someone who's always lacked a green thumb? After taking a look at some of these house plants, you might just change your tune! These are the best plant species to keep in your home, not only because they help purify the air from harmful chemicals that are found in cleaning products, varnishes, and oils, but also because they are relatively easy to care for. Check them out!

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is an easy-growing plant that loves sunlight. It can help clean the air in your house, leaving it free from formaldehyde and benzene, toxic agents found in chemical cleaning products and paint.

This is a great plant to keep in the kitchen, next to a sunny window. As well as its air purification abilities, its gel is great for treating cuts and burns, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Gerbera

Gerberas are great for cleaning the air from trichloroethylene, a chemical that can get into your house through dry cleaning. The plant also removes benzene from the atmosphere.

Spider plant

Spider plants are great if you want something that doesn't need a lot of care. These plants can help combat toxic elements in your home such as benzene, carbon monoxide, xylene, and formaldehyde.

Viper's bowstring

Also known as Mother-in-law’s Tongue, Snake Plant, and Goldband Sansevieria, this plant is brilliant for ridding your home of formaldehyde, which can be found in various cleaning products, toilet roll and other fabrics.

Devil's ivy

Also known as Golden Pothos, this is another species that fights formaldehyde in the air. It grows quite quickly, which is why it's common to see this plant with a 'cascade' of leaves falling over one side of its pot.

Keeping this plant in the garage is recommended, as it absorbs the formaldehyde found in exhaust fumes, but make sure to keep it away from children and animals as it is poisonous. Devil's ivy survives well in the dark, and only needs indirect sunlight.

Chrysanthemum

As well as brightening up any room, this plant is one of the best for purifying the air from chemicals such as benzene. It needs a lot of sunlight, so be sure to keep it in a sunny spot.

Dragon tree

The red-edged leaves of this plant can grow until they reach the ceiling! Dragon trees are great for filtering xylene, trichloroethylene, and formaldehyde from the air, chemical agents found in lacquers, varnishes and petrol.

Weeping fig

The weeping fig may not be an easy plant to look after, but it's worth it as it helps to target chemicals found in the air, such as formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene.

Ivy

It has been scientifically proven that this plant filters particles of fecal matter from the air, and also formaldehyde. Even though it's aggressive to other plants in its vicinity, it's great to have in your home.

Azalea

Azaleas help clean the air in your home from formaldehyde. They grow best in colder places, with some sunlight.

Dracaena

Dracaena filters out air pollutants that come from varnishes and other types of oils. It grows easily indoors, even without direct sunlight.

Chinese evergreens

This plant continually filters out pollutants from the air throughout its life. As it keeps growing, it gets better and better at this.

Areca palm

This plant is one of the best benzene and trichloroethylene filters you can have in your house.
It is also a good option for keeping near new furniture painted with varnish, which could be releasing formaldehyde into the air.

Heart-Leaf Philodendron

Remember that this plant is poisonous, so keep it away from kids and animals. But apart from this, it is extremely good at removing formaldehyde from the air.

Peace lily

This lily just needs shade and to be watered weekly to survive. It is one of the most used plants by NASA owing to its extreme efficiency in cleaning the air from formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene, as well as toluene and xylene.

It's a very easy plant to look after and goes well in any part of the house. It is easy to tell when it needs water as it will droop!