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The Best Houseplants for a Healthier Home
Written by Kelsey W.
Houseplants are genuinely good for your home, but not in the way the internet often claims. They will not meaningfully purify your indoor air, yet they can lift your mood, make a space feel calmer, and (through the simple act of gardening) get you moving. Here is an honest look at what houseplants really do for your health, which ones are safe around pets and kids, and a few easy picks to start with.
Quick answer: Despite a popular myth, houseplants do not clean the air in a normal home in any meaningful way; ordinary ventilation does that job. What plants can do is support wellbeing, caring for them may help lower stress and lift your mood, and gardening is real, moderate exercise. Just choose with safety in mind: several favorites (pothos, peace lily, philodendron, snake plant) are toxic to pets if chewed, while spider plant, parlor palm, and Boston fern are pet-safe.
Do Houseplants Really Clean the Air?
This is the claim you see everywhere, and it is mostly a myth. The idea traces back to a 1989 NASA experiment that measured plants removing airborne compounds inside small, sealed chambers built for spacecraft, not ordinary rooms. When researchers looked at how this scales to a real home, the math fell apart: a peer-reviewed review of the research concluded you would need somewhere between 10 and 1,000 plants per square meter of floor space to match the air cleaning that normal ventilation already provides.[1] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency puts it plainly: there is no evidence that a reasonable number of houseplants removes significant amounts of pollutants from the air in homes or offices, and it recommends controlling the source of pollutants and improving ventilation instead.[2] So enjoy your plants, but open a window if you want cleaner air.
The Real Health Benefits of Houseplants
The honest benefits are about how plants make you feel, not about scrubbing the air. Greenery indoors can make a room feel calmer and more inviting, and small studies suggest that actively caring for plants may help lower stress and support a better mood (these are early, small studies, so think gentle boost, not medicine).[3] Plants also add a little humidity to a dry room through the moisture they release. If a calmer, greener space is what you are after, a few well-placed plants genuinely help; see our guide to how a houseplant garden can help you feel grounded and our picks for colorful house plants.
Gardening Itself Is Good for You
Here is where the health story is strongest. Gardening, whether you are repotting houseplants or working in the yard, is moderate-intensity physical activity: it uses your whole body and can burn roughly 250 to 500 calories an hour, which counts toward the recommended two and a half hours of moderate activity each week.[4] Structured gardening programs have also been linked with lower stress and improved mood, which is why horticultural therapy is used in some care settings. In other words, the most reliable health benefit of plants comes from the time you spend tending them.
Keep It Safe: Pet- and Child-Friendly Houseplants
This part matters, because several of the plants most often sold as healthy or air-cleaning are actually toxic to pets if chewed or eaten. According to the ASPCA, pothos, peace lily, philodendron, and snake plant can all cause problems for cats and dogs, while spider plant, parlor palm, areca palm, Boston fern, and calathea are listed as non-toxic.[5]
| Toxic to pets if eaten | Generally pet-safe |
|---|---|
| Pothos | Spider plant |
| Peace lily | Parlor palm |
| Philodendron | Areca palm |
| Snake plant (a Dracaena) | Boston fern, Calathea |
Non-toxic does not mean a pet can safely eat a whole plant; any plant can cause mild stomach upset, so keep nibblers away from the leaves either way. If you have curious pets or small children, lean on the pet-safe list, and if a pet does eat part of a plant you are unsure about, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. For more ideas, see our guide to pet-safe houseplants.
Easy Houseplants to Start With
If you are new to indoor plants, start with forgiving ones. Snake plant and pothos are famously hard to kill: both take bright, indirect light (and tolerate lower light), and you water them only when the top couple of inches of soil are dry.[6] Just remember both of those are on the pet-toxic list, so if you share your home with pets or toddlers, the spider plant is an equally easy, trailing choice that is also pet-safe. Water most houseplants only when the soil has begun to dry, since overwatering harms more houseplants than almost anything else.[6] New to gardening in general? See our list of six easy houseplants to grow.
Want help choosing plants that fit your space and your household? Visit any Green Thumb Nursery location and our team will point you to beautiful, easy, and pet-smart picks for every room.
Houseplants and Health FAQ
Do houseplants clean the air in your home?
Not in any meaningful way. The famous air-purifying claim comes from a 1989 NASA study done in sealed chambers; in a normal home you would need an impractical number of plants to match ordinary ventilation. The EPA says there is no evidence that a reasonable number of houseplants removes significant pollutants indoors.[2]
Are houseplants actually good for your health?
Yes, but mostly for wellbeing rather than air quality. Plants can make a space feel calmer, and the activity of gardening is real moderate exercise that counts toward weekly activity goals.[4]
What houseplants are good for mental health?
There is no magic plant, but small studies suggest caring for any houseplant you enjoy may help lower stress and lift your mood. Choose plants you like and find easy to keep alive, since the benefit comes from tending them.[3]
Which houseplants are safe for pets?
Spider plant, parlor palm, areca palm, Boston fern, and calathea are listed as non-toxic by the ASPCA. Pothos, peace lily, philodendron, and snake plant are toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so keep those away from pets and children.[5]
What is the easiest houseplant for beginners?
Snake plant and pothos are the most forgiving, tolerating low light and infrequent watering, but both are toxic to pets. If you need a pet-safe beginner plant, the spider plant is just as easy.[6]
Sources
- [1] Cummings and Waring (2020), Potted Plants Do Not Improve Indoor Air Quality, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology: doi.org
- [2] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The Inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality: epa.gov
- [3] Lee et al. (2015), Journal of Physiological Anthropology: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- [4] Rutgers NJAES, The Unexpected Health Benefits of Gardening: sebsnjaesnews.rutgers.edu
- [5] ASPCA, Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants: aspca.org
- [6] Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC, Houseplant Selections for Beginners: hgic.clemson.edu
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