NASA reported that houseplants were able to reduce up to 87 percent of air toxins in 24 hours. They recommended using 15 to 18 'good-sized' houseplants in 6 to 8-inch diameter containers for an 1800 square-foot house.
And not just any house plants will do. Here's a list of the top 10 anti-pollutant plants rated best by The New Ecologist.com…
- The Feston Rose plant
- Devil's Ivy
- Phalaenopsis
- English Ivy
- Parlor Ivy
- African Violets
- Christmas Cactus
- Yellow Goddess
- Garlic Vine
- Peace Lily
NASA, at the Stennis Space Center, also constructed what they called a BioHome, which incorporated bioregenerative technology with the ultimate goal of providing a life support system for permanent human habitation in space. Inside the BioHome structure are common houseplants, which NASA says act as living air purifiers to absorb as much chemical pollutants as possible from synthetic materials in the living area.
If houseplants are capable of cleansing the air in the BioHome, imagine what they could do in your home!