Top 15 plants to increase your home indoor air quality by reducing pollutants

Carissa Wodehouse Thursday, May 22, 2008 06:57 PM
TAGS: HOME, PLAY, gardening

Check out this nifty illustration of household plants and the common household toxins they filter from Good Magazine. The strangest is benzene, which causes drowsiness and vomiting but "has a pleasant smell, which is why it used to be a common ingredient in aftershave." According to the graph, benzene is now present in detergents, synthetic fibers and inks and can be countered with Peace Lily and Chrysanthemum. I'm pleased to already own a Maginata, a pretty bright green plant that helps mollify both benzene and trichloroethylene, which causes long-term damage to the liver and is present in dry cleaning and paint. Quick, someone send me some Gerbera Daisies!

Find a nursery near you in our green directory.

via inhabitat.