All of us have seen those pictures of beautiful interior designs filled with indoor plants and articles about how important they are. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but they also add colour, reduce air pollution by removing toxins, produce oxygen and decrease stress by creating a balanced environment. 

In this article, we will show you the importance of using indoor plants and which one to choose.

How does it all work?

The air is composed of different toxins and pollutants. Those toxins are mainly known as a Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs). When you are in a room those vapours have a tendency to accumulate and can begin to harm your health. This is where indoor plants come in handy. Due to photosynthesis and different processes, the plant will purify the air helping you reducing the accumulation of those VOCs. Even NASA researched to see how it could help purify the air.

The ones you want: 

• The snake plant: You have here the queen of the houseplants. It absorbs more toxins than any other houseplants and produces pure oxygen! Perfect for your bedroom and easy care!
• The peace lily: I am sure this will be your favourite as it is one of the few indoor plants that grow flowers. However, be careful this plant is toxic for kids and animals!
• Aloe Vera: You must know all the benefits of this plant. You can use it for hair care and skin care. It can be a great one if you like to DIY products and is quite easy to care for. However, not the prettiest.
• Monstera: Is the famous one. You have seen it on paintings, in interior designs and on wallpaper. The only negative point is it needs lots of space and support to grow.
• Lavender: It is not a traditional indoor plant, however, if you follow some tips you can have them grow inside. They are not only nice but colourful and have a lot of benefits on yourself and your sleep. You can also use them for sprays, house cleaners etc… You can find so many types of lavender to choose from depending on what you want from it: smell, use, colour.

Are there any bad ones?: 

Every plant has a different degree of toxins absorption mainly known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). But they also reject some VOCs. Some people do believe this could hurt our health however this theory has never been proven. The human body, by only breathing, rejects hundred of compounds during the day. You can read more about this in this study: Stönner, C, Edtbauer, A, Williams, J. Real‐world volatile organic compound emission rates from seated adults and children for use in indoor air studies. Indoor Air. 2018; 28: 164– 172.

Indoor plants reject as few as 20 VOCs per day mainly due to the pesticides you can add to the soil or the water you use. NASA in its clean air study even released the best indoor plants for air purifying and Peace Lily, Aloe Vera and Snake plant were all part of it. There are no bad plants, as per se, however, some are more effective for air purifying than others. You should also consider the smell of the plants you want to add to your interior. A heavy smell could distract yourself, be uncomfortable.

You should begin or continue to grow your inside garden for its relaxing and purifying benefits but make sure your children and pets don’t play with it as it can be harmful. If you think they might have ingested some contact directly your doctor.

I hope you liked this article and that it will help you choose your future houseplants. Let me know which one is your favourite and feel free to leave a comment! Do not forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter we cannot wait to hear from you guys.