Our air purifying plants category gathers the hard-wearing foliage plants most often associated with the name, from peace lilies and snake plants to kentia and areca palms, for homes and offices alike. Free tracked delivery across Ireland and 24 more EU countries.
Do air purifying plants actually clean the air?
Not in any way you would notice in a normal room. The name comes from NASA's 1989 sealed-chamber experiments. Later work, most directly Cummings and Waring (2020), showed those results do not scale to a ventilated home or office, where ordinary air exchange does far more than pot plants can. We use "air purifying" as the long-established name for this group of plants, not as a claim about your home.
What the research does support is about the people in the room. Occupants consistently rate rooms with plants as fresher and more pleasant. Oh and colleagues (2019) found real foliage plants were linked to a marker of improved attention in schoolchildren, while artificial plants and photographs were not. Van den Bogerd and colleagues (2020) found classrooms with real plants rated more favourably in three separate field experiments.
| Plant | Botanical name | Light | Pets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peace lily | Spathiphyllum | Low to bright indirect | Keep away from pets |
| Snake plant | Sansevieria 'Future Superb' | Low to bright indirect | Keep away from pets |
| ZZ plant | Zamioculcas zamiifolia | Low to medium | Keep away from pets |
| Kentia palm | Howea forsteriana | Low to bright indirect | Pet-safe (ASPCA) |
| Areca palm | Dypsis lutescens | Bright indirect | Pet-safe (ASPCA) |
| Parlour palm | Chamaedorea elegans | Low to medium | Pet-safe (ASPCA) |
| Peacock plant | Calathea makoyana | Medium, indirect | Pet-safe (ASPCA) |
Choosing for the room you have
For north-facing rooms, hallways and corners, snake plants, ZZ plants, kentia palms and peace lilies cope best. Near a bright window out of direct midday sun, areca palms, ficus, monstera and philodendron grow more quickly. In dry, centrally heated rooms, snake plants, ZZ plants, aloe and dracaena are tougher than calatheas. Most want less water than people expect: let the top few centimetres of compost dry out, empty the saucer, and feed monthly in spring and summer only.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best air purifying plant for a bedroom?
Choose on light and care rather than air-cleaning claims. A snake plant or ZZ plant tolerates a dim bedroom and needs watering only every few weeks; a kentia palm is a pet-safe option for a brighter room.
Did NASA prove houseplants purify the air?
NASA's 1989 study measured plants in small sealed chambers. A real room with normal ventilation is very different, and later reviews concluded you would need an impractical number of plants to match ordinary air exchange.
Are air purifying plants safe for cats and dogs?
Some are. Kentia, areca and parlour palms and calatheas are listed as non-toxic by the ASPCA. Peace lily, snake plant, ZZ plant, pothos, philodendron, monstera and dracaena are toxic if chewed.
Keep exploring: pet-safe plants, low-light plants and our indoor plants guide.