This fall and winter, as you close the windows and doors against the cold, you may be inviting trouble—indoor air pollution. According to the EPA, the level of pollutants in indoor air is generally at least two to five times higher than outdoor air, and the cold months of the year produce the dirtiest indoor air.Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to controlling indoor air pollution—houseplants. In his groundbreaking research, former NASA scientist B.C. Wolverton, author of How to Grow Fresh Air, discovered that growing an indoor garden can greatly reduce indoor air pollution.Houseplants have two ways of cleaning indoor air. They absorb pollutants into their leaves, and the toxins go to the root zone where they are transformed into nutrients for the plant. Houseplants also emit water vapors that help the plant pull polluted air to the roots where the plant converts the toxins to plant food.Houseplants scour your indoor air, ensuring that it’s healthy to breathe. Indoor plants quickly and effectively get rid of a large number of toxic substances in the air.

To ensure that your houseplants do their best at cleaning your air, place them within your personal breathing zone, which is the 6 to 8 cubic foot area where you spend the most of your time. aircon cleaning service valenzuela cityAnd keep in mind that the more houseplants you have, the cleaner your indoor air will be.clean air vehicle (cav) decalsWolverton identified 50 of the best air-cleaning houseplants. aprilaire media air cleaner reviewHere are nine easy-to-grow selections from that list.1. Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum). This plant is a vine that generally drapes, rather than climbs. The leaves are a lime-green and have a pointy tip. Arrowhead vine grows in low to medium light. Avoid putting the plant in bright light, as its leaves easily burn.

Fertilize every two months.2. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata `Bostoniensis’). This fern features ruffly foliage that readily hangs. It requires medium light and needs monthly fertilizing.3. Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema modestum). This easy-to-grow plant features variegated leaves. It grows in low to high light and requires fertilizing every two months.4. Striking plant with eye-catching, colorful foliage. Keep the plant evenly moist and place in bright light. This plant got its name from the fact that if you eat the foliage your mouth and vocal cords may numb. The plant requires medium light and rich, well-draining soil. Fertilize every two months.6. Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii). Well-known for its striking white flowers, this plant grows in medium to low light. It requires rich, well-draining soil that is kept evenly moist. If this plant is droughted, it generally comes back after watering. This climbing vine has attractive, heart-shaped leaves. In its tropical home, it can grow 10 to 15 feet outdoors.

It requires low to medium light. Fertilize every two months.8. This vining plant is green or variegated with yellow or white veining. It is easy to grow and thrives in just about any lighting situation, from dim to bright. Fertilize every three months.9. This plant made headlines in 1984 as a super air-cleaner for its superior ability to quickly scour a wide variety of toxins from the air. It does well as a hanging or cascading plant. Spider plants need medium to bright light. Fertilize every three months.Most people have heard at some point that house plants are good for your health because they can clean, filter and purify the air of various toxins and pollutants. A lot of people know that this has been proved by science, although most people don't know about the actual studies or which plants are best for the job. Humans have always "known" plants did more than provide food for us or look good, but there was no real science to support this idea. It wasn't until The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) began to think about future life-support systems so humans could live on the moon and other planets that the ability of plants to filter and purify the air was exposed in full detail.

NASA proposed that if humans traveled to inhospitable planets then small biospheres would need to exist in order to support them, much like a spacecraft provides a suitable environment for its passengers as they travel through space. The issue however was that at the time spacecrafts could only be used for short periods due to the quick build up volatile organic chemicals, coming both from the people themselves as well as various equipment and machinery used on the craft. Between 1980 and 1984 NASA proved plants in sealed test chambers that were exposed to volatile organic chemicals could remove them from the air. Including formaldehyde which is found in, or used to produce, a multitude of everyday products, from fabrics and furniture to tobacco smoke and gas stoves. Numerous scientific studies have shown it is dangerous to human health, the US National Toxicology Program in 2011 even went as far as to label it as a "human carcinogen". In 1984 people were very excited by NASA's findings and as a result they funded significant research looking at house plants and their air purifying abilities.

Dr Bill Wolverton was one of the scientists brought on board to help research and study the effects of houseplants on air quality in contained spaces and produced some of the most popular and commonly referenced research papers about the topic. If you want to read more about Dr Wolverton's work, the experiments themselves, or better understand how he formulated his ranking we have provided an Amazon link below to his book. The list is ranked in order of plant effectiveness in a typical home according to Dr Wolverton. So the 1st plant in the list (Areca Palm) is the most effective and the 50th (Kalanchoe) is the least.As our site grows more will become links!). Areca Palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens) Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) Bamboo Palm (Chamaedorea seifrizii) Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta) Deacaena "Janet Craig" (Dracaena dermensis) English Ivy (Hedera helix) Dwarf Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) Ficus "Alii" (Ficus macleilandii) Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata "Bostoniensis")

Corn Plant (Dracaena fragrans) Golden Pothos (Epipremnum aureum) Kimberley Queen Fern (Nephrolepis obliterata) Pot Mum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) Dracaena "Warneckei" (Dracaena dermensis) Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata) Red Emerald Philodendron (Philodendron erubescens) Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia "Exotica Compacta") Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans) Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) Schefflera / Umbrella Plant (Schefflera arboricola) Wax Begonia (Begonia Semperflorens) Lacy Tree Philodendron (Philodendron selloum) Heart-Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron Oxycardium) Snake plant / Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata / laurentii Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia camilla) Elephant Ear Philodendron (Philodendron domesticum / tuxla) Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla) King of Hearts (Homalomena wallisii) Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura "Kerchoveann")

Dwarf Banana (Musa cavendishii) Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera buckleyi) Easter Cactus (Schlumbergera gaertneri) Oakleaf Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia "Ellen Danika") Lily Turk (Liriope spicata) Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema crispum "Silver Queen") Croton (Codiaeum variegatum pictum) Dwarf Azalea (Rhodedendron simsii "Compacta") Peacock Plant (Calthea makoyana) Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) Urn Plant (Aechmea fasciata) Not found your particular house plant on that list? It's really important to remember that Wolverton's experiments focused on common house plants at the time. There would be no point putting in a fantastic air cleaning house plant if no one had ever heard of it, or more importantly actually wanted to have it in their homes. The studies were also done in the late 1980's before certain plants like the ZZ Plant and Yucca had even become house plants in their own right and therefore weren't part of the experiments either.

This means a lot of modern house plants around today aren't on the list. However even if some of your own plants didn't make it into the list there is no reason to see this as a negative. Almost all plants on the planet have an air cleaning ability, although it's true some are better adapted to deal with certain toxins, pollution and putting moisture back into the air than others. There may be certain plants ranking high on the list you really can't stand and others which you love but are lower down. Our opinion is that you should select plants for your home or office that you actually enjoy and like. The list will simply illustrate that if you own (or spend time around) any of the plants above then there is hard scientific proof that they will clean the air in your home or office and have the official stamp that they "are good for your health" as a result. Which plants do you have? Would you consider buying any from the list as a consequence of reading this? Do you agree with Dr Wolverton's findings?