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The Healf Source
The Plant That Can Boost Indoor Air Quality
Smoke and dust can invade your home. This plant might be one of the simplest, most overlooked fixes to help keep your air clean indoors.
Written by: Tom Ward
Written on: July 27, 2026
The quality of the air inside our homes is often overlooked, but when we really think about it, from sleeping to working, cooking, helping kids with their homework, and lazy mornings, we actually spend a huge percentage of our lives indoors.
It makes sense, then, that we’d want our home environment to be as clean – and friendly to our health – as possible. When we consider that the air we breathe plays a big factor in our wellbeing, it becomes doubly important.
Our homes are supposed to be safe and healthy, but poor air quality can cause headaches, asthmatic symptoms, and even long-term disease. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to boost your air quality at home. Perhaps the most interesting hack comes from NASA's Clean Air Study (1989), which looked at the air-purifying qualities of various houseplants. An odd study for astronauts, maybe, but when you’re trapped in a box in space, air quality matters more than ever.
The findings were quite fascinating: the humble peace lily might just be the home air purifier you’re searching for. Here’s everything you need to know.
Why indoor air quality is a bigger deal than most of us realise
We tend to think of pollution as an outdoor problem — traffic, smog, smoke. But, according to herbalist Tamara Warner, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than the air outside. “Modern homes are built like sealed Tupperware: airtight for energy efficiency, which traps moisture, stale air, and the volatile organic compounds (VOC)s quietly off-gassing from paint, carpet adhesive, flat-pack furniture and cleaning sprays,” she says. Long-term, that cocktail shows up as headaches, tired eyes, and irritated airways.
Dr. Jean-Marc Sobczyk, a medical and naturopathic doctor at HOOKE, agrees. He points to a 2020 review of 141 studies from 29 countries which found that dust, nitrogen dioxide, and VOCs (such as benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde) can build up inside. These come from things like cooking, heating, cleaning, furniture, building materials, and even from outside air.
”The biggest health risks are linked to VOCs and breathing issues,” he says. For example, a 2021 review published in the journal Environmental Research, found that VOCs can make asthma worse in adults.
What makes the peace lily different from other houseplants?
While the NASA study looked at other plants including the snake plant, English ivy, areca palm, bamboo palm, and Boston fern, only one type of flora showed really promising results.
“Peace lily, part of genus Spathiphyllum, has unique physiological characteristics and can facilitate high transpiration rates which purifies are faster,” says environmental scientist Katie Hutchinson.
“Most houseplants are decoration. The peace lily is a workhorse,” adds Warner. Where a monstera or pothos filters a narrow band of compounds, the peace lily handles a broader profile. It’s a heavy transpirer, pushing moisture back into the room from those big glossy leaves. This helps settle airborne dust, and soothes dry throats through the winter heating months.
The science: what does it actually filter — and how well?
“Peace lilies remove VOCs from the air by absorbing them through their leaves and transporting them to the roots, where they are broken down into harmless compounds by microbes in the soil,” says Lotte Berendsen, a certified botanist with PlantIn. In fact, NASA’s study revealed that peace lilies reduced air pollutants like benzene and formaldehyde by 23% within an hour, which was the highest percentage of all of the plants studied.
There is a caveat: the NASA review was carried out in a sealed environment, mimicking that of a spacecraft. Presumably, your home has not been designed this way. “The caveat matters,” says Warner. “That was a sealed chamber, not a draughty flat. A plant’s air-exchange rate is far slower than simply opening a window. Think gentle, continuous filter — not industrial scrub.”
Sobczyk delves slightly deeper into the real-world applications, pointing to a 2020 review in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, which used the clean air delivery rate (CADR), the standard for air cleaners, to review the data. They found that normal ventilation removes VOCs much faster than any houseplant. “To match regular ventilation, you would need 10 to 1,000 plants for every square metre of floor space,” says Sobczyk.
So, while peace lilies do remove some VOCs through their leaves and roots, and while having greenery around can improve our mental wellbeing, the effect in a normal room, even with several plants, would only make a small difference for your health.
Where to put your peace lily for maximum effect
Berendsen recommends placing your peace lilies in rooms where you spend a lot of time, such as your bedroom, home office, or living room. “Make sure that your plant receives enough sunlight, as it needs to photosynthesise to produce energy and keep the air-purification process going,” she says. As with any plant, avoid harsh, direct sunlight, which can scorch its leaves.
Sobczyk, who is slightly more sceptical about plants' ability to remove VOCs at a significant scale, says you should “place them where their real benefits count”
“Plants like peace lilies release water vapour, which can slightly increase humidity and may help in a dry bedroom,” he says, adding that shade can stunt their growth, while kitchens and bathrooms are good spots for them because these rooms are more humid.”
What a plant can and can't do for your air
Plants are pretty incredible modulators of our environment, and can have a big impact on our wellbeing. Hutchinson points out that they can also help regulate building temperatures, increase humidity, decrease noise levels, and alleviate stress. But they can’t do everything. “They are best supported by ventilation systems,” she says. “The overall message from me would be a peace lily is great for numerous reasons, but my primary recommendation for cleaner air would be to open a window.”
Berendsen agrees that even peace lilies, while able to filter toxins from the air, are “not a replacement for an air purifier.”
Instead of just relying on plants to clean your indoor air, Sobczyk suggests you also try these simple steps:
- Leave your shoes at the door and avoid walking inside with them on. Household dust tracked in this way can carry lead, pesticide residues, and other outdoor contaminants, and using a doormat along with taking your shoes off has been linked to lower household dust contamination.
- Avoid artificial fragrances or electric air fresheners, as these are a well-known source of indoor VOCs, including formaldehyde.
- Make sure your kitchen hood is well ventilated and sends air outside, instead of recycling it indoors. Field measurements show that a properly used, vented range hood can cut cooking-related NO2 and fine particulates by 80-95%.
- If possible, consider getting an air purifier with HEPA filters, especially for your bedroom. Randomised, placebo-controlled trials have shown that HEPA filtration can help people with allergic airway disease.
This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of Healf
Tom Ward is a former Men's Health features editor, and writes regularly on sports, fitness and adventure for the Red Bulletin, Outside, and the Sunday Times. He is the author of the novels The Lion and The Unicorn, and TIN CAT.
