Try Household Plants for Cleaner Indoor Air

Peace Lily, image via Wikimedia Commons

If you have a green thumb, keeping your household plants alive is as easy as 1-2-3. However, if you have a "black thumb" like me (a.k.a. the "thumb of death) this is a tall order.

Indoor plants actually act as natural air filters, improving indoor air quality by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. Additionally, scientists say that they can contribute to clean air by absorbing nasty pollutants such as formaldehyde, carbon monoxide.

Sounds great, right? Before you go shopping, you need to know which plants are the best at keeping indoor air at its best. Research has shown that the following 7 plants are the most effective in contributing to balanced indoor humidity, as well as combating off-gassed chemicals:

1) Boston Fern
2) English Ivy
3) Peace Lily
4) Rubber Plant
5) Areca Palm
6) Gerbera Daisy
7) Spider Plant

I think I'm going to try the Areca Palm, since they are supposed to be hardy plants that require little to no expertise; just medium to bright light and enough water to keep the soil moist. That shouldn't be too hard, right?