House plants that clean indoor air

Last year we had the goal to place more houseplants for the purpose of cleaning the indoor air. We had 13 in total and they are:

3 mother in law's tongue

1 English ivy (Hedera helix)
6 Money Plants (Epipremnum aureum)
1 peace lily
1 Christmas cactus
1 Madagascar jasmine

Unfortunately, after three months staying in a transparent plastic bag (the idea is to put the plants in a micro bio-dome so they recycle water, oxygen and carbon dioxide), only the following plants survived:

1 mother in law's tongue

1 English ivy
5 Money Plants
1 peace lily
1 Christmas cactus

 70% survival rate is not all that bad. However, the ones doing good are only English ivy and money plants.

So we added 2 more English ivy (one with broader leaves) and Money plants respectively. We are trying new plants such as Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum), Wandering Jew (Tradescantia zebrina/ Zebrina pendula), Money Tree plant (Pachira aquatica), Arabian Wax Cissus (Cissus rotundifolia), Angel Wing begonia and Silver spotted philodendron (Scindapsus picta 'Argyraeus')

3 English ivy

3 Wandering Jew

1 Spider plants
8 Money Plants
1 Money Tree plant

1 Arabian Wax Cissus

1 Angel Wing begonia

1 Silver spotted philodendron

1 mother in law's tongue

1 peace lily
1 Christmas cactus

All in all, we have 22 house plants in total, plus a few cuttings growing in water in jars. English Ivy, wandering Jew, angel wing begonia and money plant can all grow in the water.

This year we are not using humidifier. With more house plants and hang-drying the laundry, the air humidity seems to be quite balanced.

I breathe much better this fall/winter. Usually starting end of August until May, I have hard time breathing. This year, I gave in and started using Nasonex occasionally. So I am not sure whether the effect comes from Nasonex or from more house plants or both. One thing that is sure is that having green inside the house helps brighten up mood on a grey day.

What's for lunch?

What we ate for lunch this year has changed as compared to last year (here). We are now eating soup for lunch.

What typically in our soup is as follows:

Mung bean (pre-cooked)
Tofu

Potatoes (one medium or two small ones)

Carrots

Sweet potatoes (half of large or one small)

Green vegetables (variables among broccoli, zucchini, Chinese mustard green, sweet pepper).

Soup is cooked without any salt. Miso is added for flavour and to populate gut flora.

Soup is eaten with half of avocado each.