Air Purifying Pet Safe Plants
Once I added plants into my home a lot of things changed. My permanent stuffy nose disappeared, my headaches reduced, and I was able to breathe deeper. The air just feels cleaner and fresher and I’m digging’ it.
It wasn’t just because NASA told me plants could make my home’s air cleaner, it was a change I wasn’t even thinking could happen. While you do need quite a few plants to make a noticeable difference in air quality, that isn’t a problem for us plant parents. The more the merrier.
Now, there are tons of blog posts talking about this NASA study and how you need to buy those plants to clean your air. Turns out, that study was really not meant to be interpreted in a home setting. This was more of a “look what plants can do” rather than how “one snake plant can help improve air quality.” Given this clarification, plants still can improve your indoor space and make it just feel fresher. After scouring the NASA list I compiled a list of “detoxifying” NASA-suggested plants safe for cats and dogs.
Calathea
Hoya
African Violet
Areca Palm
Ferns
Spider Plant
Maranta
Bromeliads
Many varieties of these certain plant families, such as ferns and palms, offer the same air-cleansing benefits, and generally the bigger the plant the better. Parlour palms, Bostons ferns, and Fan palms are just a few. Rubber trees are also excellent chemical reducers and air purifiers, but they aren’t 100% safe for pets, so I recommend them with reservations.
Air-Cleansing Plant Placement
While I believe plants should go everywhere in the home, a few places are key for air freshness. I suggest shoving plants in your:
- Bedroom (a couple on bedside tables are lovely)
- Bathroom (near the bathtub, hanging from the shower)
- Living Room (everywhere, plants should be everywhere)
- Kitchen (put herbs and plants in corners away from stoves)
- Home office (cancel out chemicals your office furniture bring in)
- Workspace (plants make a huge difference in cubicles or small offices)
I’ve found that too many plants in a bedroom can actually make sleeping uncomfortable. Plus, according to feng shui, a lot of bedroom plants are not ideal since they produce carbon dioxide that can lead to increased breathing. Personally I’ve placed most of my plants in my home office and living room which are larger open spaces.
Maybe plants help cats breathe easier too, but Harvey and Harlequinn have not given me any feedback. They do like the jungle atmosphere though, very much.
I’m currently reaserching which plants to get for my new home and this article is so helpful! I fell in love with the Calathea, I’ve never heard of it before. Also, would you mind telling me what kind of plant is in the green pot next to you, in the last photo? It’s very beautiful! Thanks!
Hi Karolina! That is a Ficus elastica, or Rubber Tree, next to me. I feature him in few of my posts, his name is Rudy. Thanks for reading!
I’m so happy I found your website! I’m a rather new (and obsessed) plant mom with a very loud kitty and we’re figuring out our own jungle together. Your cats are really cute too!
Thank you Kati!
Hi! We are soon-to-be first time pet owners and had just adopted a kitten (Barry). In preparing our home, I came across your article about Monstera, which I received as a gift and is our first plant ever as well. Without having to risk so much since I’m a newbie on both cases, are there any other plants that you can recommend that is a floor plant and grows as tall (or as close) as the Monstera? The plants suggested here are beautiful, but I’m looking for a taller with fuller leaves plant. Thank you in advance!
Hi Cheryl! I’ll actually be doing a post about this soon! The short answer is not really, except palms and banana trees are pet safe. Be aware that kittens and all cats love palms trees and stringy plants, so you’d want to keep it marginally out of reach. You can find False aralia specimens pretty tall and rubber trees are also ok as long as they’re larger, mature plants.
Hi again Cheryl, the new post is up if you’re interested: The Best Indoor Trees
We will be getting 2 cats soon, is there any way to keep my rubber tree plant that is 10ft tall with the cats. I read it is poisonous to pets.
You can keep it in another room closed off, use a plant stand, or carefully observe them to see if they interact with it. I have 3 Rubber trees in my home and it’s the plant my cats are least interested in.
I wanted to get bird of paradise but read it’s poisonous to cats. Is that true?
Hi Sandy, that’s correct. This post does talk about some large plants that are safe though.