Six Plants Perfect for Freshening Up Your Bathrooms

It’s easy to find space in your house to grow small plants. But as easy as it is, most people are unaware of the benefits to be had by getting a few and adding them to your home’s ecosystem.

Plants are silent friends that provide aesthetic value as well as certain health benefits to our lives. While landscaping is a great way of increasing the value and appearance of properties, the advantages of indoor plants include health benefits like reducing stress and helping the body release oxytocin (known as a happiness hormone). They absorb carbon dioxide from our surroundings and release the oxygen.

An excess of carbon dioxide in the air can contribute to anxiety, depression and other health related issues, leaving a stress-inducing environment in your house and bathrooms. Studies have shown that plants improve concentration and enhance the attention and creativity. Similarly, a plant with broad leaves on your table or work place could help your productivity by contributing to improved mood. Last but not the least, plants also works as little humidity regulators.

There are many plants which can easily be maintained as indoor plants. The best part is that they don’t require much extra effort and can be easily placed around the house with just a little bit of strategic and occasional care. All you need is to buy already-grown plants and bring your new little friends home.

Some of the best indoor plants to consider for your bathroom are the following:

Aloe Vera
Lavender
Mother-in-law’s tongue (also known as Snake Plant)
Spider plant
Cactus
Pothos

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is a green plant with no stem. It has thick greenish leaves which emerge from the center of the plant. The edges of the leaf have small tooth-like serrations.

To care for your Aloe plant, place it in a location that offers indirect or artificial sunlight. Avoid direct sunlight as it will dry out the plant. Aloe doesn’t require very much watering.

Aloe works as an air purifier by removing formaldehyde and benzene from the air.

Lavender

Lavender is a plant with purple or deep blue flowers and silvery-green leaves. Lavender has a pleasant aroma that can help reduce the impact of bathroom odor. Place the lavender in a place with plenty of sunlight. It can also live with artificial light but it better be close – to the tune of 6-12 inches away that is.

With lavender, the container you use is important. Look for one that will be one or two inches larger than the root ball of the plant.

For the first three months lavender needs regular watering until it adapts to its new location. But don’t water it every day. Check it after a couple of days and decide if it needs water by feeling the soil. Flooding the plant will kill it.

Lavender is a great choice for homes with smokers as it efficiently eliminates benzene from the air found in cigarette smoke.

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Snake Plant)

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (also known as Snake Plant) should be located in a place that offers medium to high light. Beyond that, the plant doesn’t require too much attention.

Snake Plant has rhizomes that store a significant amount of water, so frequent watering is not needed. Just periodically check the soil to know when it needs to be watered. If the soil at the bottom of the pot is dry, the plant needs to be watered.

Snake plant’s leaves purify the air by absorbing toxins providing a continuous supply of fresh oxygen twenty-four hours a day.

Spider plant

The spider plant exists in three types: Variegated, Green and Curly. The most common in these three is the variegated kind. All varieties of the spider plant produce long leaves that rise up and over the pot. The long and thin stems are called off-shoots and grow from the plant, hanging below or near the pot. The plants are often grown in hanging pots so that just the offshoots are visible.

When selecting a pot for your Spider Plant, size it according to its current growth. The soil should be light and drain well. Spider plant does well in relatively cool environments as it can tolerate a temperature as low as 35 Fahrenheit, although it will be happiest living in 70-90 F.

Water your Spider plant only when the top soil becomes dry. Avoid the use of fluoridated and chlorinated water as it is more sensitive to these chemicals than other plants. But when it comes to the air, Spider plant is a tough cookie that efficiently removes formaldehyde – a virtually omnipresent chemical that is a byproduct of the offgassing of synthetic materials.

Cactus

Cactus is already well known for being uniquely capable of living in hot and dry conditions. But did you know they can live in your house as well? When it comes to indoor plants, the less maintenance the better. And cacti fit the bill.

Keep your cacti in direct sunlight for at least a few hours each day. Water them weekly when they are still in their growing stage. Avoid watering if the soil is already moist.

Cactus is a very good air purifier. It purifies the air by removing ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde and xylene from the air.

Pothos

The pothos is the easiest indoor plant among all others. Pothos is a perfect indoor plant for the people who are too busy in their lives. The pothos can grow up to six or twelve feet over time. Place the pot on the table or hang it somewhere in the kitchen.

Keep the plant in bright light but not in the direct sunlight and ensure that it’s pot provides sufficient drainage.

Pothos helps purify the air by eliminating the air toxins like formaldehyde and benzene fumes which are commonly found in newly painted or furnished rooms. It also removes carbon monoxide from the air.