You maintain hygiene, cleanliness and neatness in your home, yet there is this oppressive feeling of stagnation that could result in headaches, nausea, and ear, eye or nose irritation. Commonly referred to as ‘sick building syndrome’, it is due to the presence of air contaminants and poor ventilation. Luckily, NASA has found a beautiful solution to this problem – houseplants!

Did you know that indoor factors like upholstery, synthetic building materials including paints and cleaning products all emit harmful toxic compounds into the indoor air? And with people usually spending about 90% f their time indoors, it becomes imperative that you get rid of these toxic indoor air pollutants.

While improving ventilation is a great option, you could always add in houseplants, nature’s support system to beautify as well as mop up pollutants. Here are some great air-purifying plants to consider:

Garden Mum

Also known as chrysanthemums, these pretty air-purifying champions help you get rid of ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde and xylene from indoor air.

Spider plants

These long-leafed plants are very easy to grow. They thrive on bright, indirect sunlight and help in clearing up pollutants like formaldehyde and xylene from indoor air.

Dracaena

These are common foliage plants with long wide leaves that look elegant in homes as well as offices. With over 40 different varieties that come with varying leaf colours, they are great at sucking up toxic traces of xylene, formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene. However, practice caution with the placement of these plants as they are toxic to cats and dogs.

Peace lily

These rich green plants are not only beautiful to look at, but also help in mopping up ammonia, xylene, formaldehyde and benzene from your indoor air. These plants need a shady spot and regular watering.

Ficus

Also known as the weeping fig, this hardy plant can grow up to 10 feet tall indoors. It’s a low-maintenance plant that needs bright, indirect sunlight and not too much watering. In return, it gets rid of pollutants like trichloroethylene, formaldehyde and benzene from your home/office.

Boston fern

These feathery plants require cool locations with high humidity, frequent watering and indirect sunlight. They get rid of toxins like formaldehyde and xylene.

Snake plant

Also called ‘mother-in-laws tongue’, these hardy plants need dry conditions and sunlight. They also get rid of xylene, formaldehyde, benzene and trichloroethylene.

Bamboo palm

These elegant-looking tropical palms thrive in sunlight and are great at filtering pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

Hopefully, these plants should help start you off on indoor air purification.