The quality of the air both you and your dog breathe is so essential to good health. Making sure your home has a selection of plants in it can make the air you breathe cleaner and, therefore, healthier. The best plants for clean air are ones that purify the air and make your home feel more like home. Houseplants and air plants can do wonders to improve indoor air quality while adding character and beauty to any space. They also offer many benefits, such as enhancing moods, reducing stress levels, and lowering blood pressure while filtering out common household toxins!
How can plants help clean the air?
Plants naturally help to purify the air because they emit oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. However, NASA research shows that the best plants for clean air can help purify indoor air and remove toxins. These can be such toxins as; formaldehyde (found in building materials), benzene (a common industrial solvent found in gasoline) and trichloroethylene (commonly found in paints and adhesives). Also, the best plants for cleaner air can filter toxins while also adding oxygen to the surrounding environment.
Plants also emit phytoncides that also help break down harmful chemicals in our homes as well as the ones we have mentioned before, such as benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, but also xylene (found in plastics and coil cleaners), styrene (found in rubber and plastics) and toluene (a chemical found in paints, adhesives, varnishes, lacquers). So aS you can see the benefits of having plants around is enormous.
What plants are safe to have around dogs?
So we can all appreciate the importance of having a few plants scattered around the home, but which ones are safe around our dogs? Some plants can be highly toxic to dogs, and we should avoid having these in our homes. But if we stick to plants that are safe around our pets, then we can have the best of both worlds: a cleaner, purified air to breathe and a happy dog.
Always do research when buying plants for homes with dogs or any pets. But, a selection of plants that are non-toxic to dogs are:
- Spider Plant
- Boston Fern
- Cat Grass
- Bromeliad
- Chinese Money Plant
- Kentia Palm
So the next time you are at the garden centre, pick up a dog-friendly plant and improve the air for you and your pup.
