Purify the Air in Your Office With These Easy-to-Maintain Plants

The health and happiness of your employees is paramount to your success, and a professionally cleaned office by Spotless Commercial Cleaning is only the beginning. Promoting a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise, a good diet, adequate relaxation and time outdoors should also be a part of your company culture, but the issue with this is that an employee usually needs to be sitting down indoors in order to be productive.

There are some things like the air quality, however, that you have complete control over. A great way to make an office space healthier and, in turn, your employees is to fill the space with plants. Because indoor air can be up to 5 times more polluted than outdoor air, it’s important to have plants in the office to filter the air around you. Here are a few plants that can do just that as well as a couple more that smell good and act as mood enhancers:

1. English Ivy (Hedera helix)

This air-cleaning type of ivy is simple to care for and can stay healthy with only a small amount of indirect light. Buy a few and set them around your office to soak up the volatile organic compounds in the air that are produced by all of the technology and machinery surrounding you. If these volatile organic compounds become too prevalent, your employees could experience headaches and nausea, which are certainly not good for productivity.

2. Gold Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

Here’s another well-known air cleaner that takes care of harmful indoor ozone. If your employees have ever complained about chest pain or throat irritation, then you’ll want to stock up on these vines quick. They’re easy to grow with indirect sunlight and occasional watering, so don’t worry about their longevity.

3. Aloe (Aloe vera)

Did you know that chemical-based cleaners and paints could be pumping formaldehyde and benzene into the air? It’s true, but aloe can help clear them up with ease. Also, if anyone ever gets cut, scraped or burnt on the job, you’ve got a wonderful antiseptic in the gel of the aloe plant.

Aloe plants are easy to care for in that they require little pruning or watering, but they do require a significant amount of sunlight.

4. Gardenia (Gardenia augusta)

Here’s a plant that can really stimulate your brain. When you smell the flowers, your emotional outlook on life is said to improve according to a study by Rutgers University. Keep this plant in direct sunlight and water it every other day for best results, but make sure you’re in it for the longterm—this plant can live for as long as 25 years!

5. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita)

Peppermint is another plant you can keep around that stimulate your brain. Smelling the plant will increase your alertness and boost your memory, and eating it can help to keep your appetite at bay. What’s more, it’s even great in tea and easy to care for as long as you have some direct sunlight.