Guest post by Mona Freund

It’s no secret that spending time outside is good for us. Studies show that only two hours per week spent in nature can be beneficial to our health. It doesn’t really matter whether you get this outside time while hiking, gardening or simply sitting in your backyard. If you’re not fortunate enough to own a backyard, you can still bring a touch of green and fresh air into your life by adding plants to your interior decor. Plants increase our ability to focus, boost our happiness and reduce our stress level, which makes them the perfect addition to any inside space.

Besides improving our mental health, plants are amazing natural air purifiers. The air in your home can be compromised by dust, pet hair, mold, or smoke among others. Regular vacuuming and dusting, as well as, opening the windows in your home once or twice a day can minimize the amount of pollutants in the air. While these practices are important, there is more you can do to improve the air quality in your home: Add indoor plants!

A NASA study published in 1989 tested a variety of houseplants for their ability to filter volatile organic compounds (VOCs) out of the air. VOCs are airborne toxins that stem from chemicals. The results of the NASA research were astounding: Peace lilies, for instance, were able to remove 79.5% of benzene from the air in the test lab. Benzene is one of the five most common VOCs that we encounter in our daily lives. It can be found in gasoline, glues, detergents, and furniture wax. Other common VOCs include the following:

● Trichloroethylene (TCE): found in adhesives, paint removers and cleaners

● Formaldehyde: found in cosmetics, manufactured wood, cigarette smoke and permanent press fabric

● Xylene: found in paint and varnish, cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust

● Ammonia: found in fertilizers, window and industrial cleaners

VOCs are not always harmful to humans and animals. In fact, most mammals produce small amounts of VOCs themselves. As with many things though, high exposure can be detrimental. While formaldehyde is commonly used as a preservative in cosmetics like shampoo or face cream, overexposure can cause irritation to the throat, mouth and nose. TCE used to be a surgical anesthetic until it was found to cause kidney cancer, which resulted in it being outlawed in the United States in 1977.

The good news is, regardless of how much space you have and how good you are with keeping your greenery alive, there is a plant that fits you and your lifestyle. If you want to improve the air quality in your home, check out the flowchart below to find out which air purifying plant is best for you. Adding two plants per 100 square feet is a good start. If you need some inspiration for sprucing up your home with plants, the visual also includes tips on how to add greenery to your home office, living and bedroom.

Take good care of your new natural air purifiers and never underestimate how much they do for you and your health!

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Mona Freund grew up in Germany, spent some time on the East Coast and has now found her home in sunny San Diego. When she's not creating content for FTD, she can be found surfing, baking chocolate chip cookies or talking to her tomato plant 'Hank' to help him grow faster.

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