We can live four weeks without food, four days without water, four minutes without air. For sure, air tops the list as the most essential requirement to our physical health. Yet air can be rather unhealthy this time of the year. With doors and windows closed, indoor air pollution levels can rise to dangerous levels. While air fresheners cover up the smell of stale air, this does little to improve the indoor air quality. However, there is an effective solution to this problem, plants.

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Live indoor plants have been shown to improve the indoor air quality of home and office spaces through respiration and photosynthesis. I read about a student's science project that proved houseplants really do purify indoor air. The top performer of the project was English ivy, which cleaned 94 percent of typical household air pollution from the air.

English Ivy not only scrubs the air, it’s a low-maintenance plant. So are Boston ferns, begonias, Christmas cactus, palms, and philodendron.

Exposure to air pollutants can be up to 100 times higher indoors than it is outdoors. With the average person spending more than 90 percent of his time indoors during the winter, polluted air inside a home or office can significantly affect one’s health.

That’s where plants come in. Requiring no batteries, power cords, or filter cleaning, these natural alternatives are also silent air scrubbers. Plus, they create a pleasant experience for the eyes, ears, nose, lungs and mind set.

A short list of air purifying plants

Begonia, wax
Boston fern
Christmas cactus
Corn plant -- filters out formaldehyde
Croton
Dracaena (all types)
Dumb cane
Fig tree
Ivy English -- considered the best purifier of general indoor air pollutants
Ivy, oak-leaf
Kalanchoe
Mother-in-law's tongue/Snake plant
Norfolk Island pine/palm
Palm (all varieties)
Peace lily
Philodendron (all varieties)
Prayer plant
Rubber plant  -- highly effective at removing formaldehyde and other indoor toxins
Schefflera (umbrella plant)
Spider plant

For helpful indoor gardening tips, visit my collection of articles.