Fear not! Your dirty clay, ceramic, or plastic pots from last Summer can indeed be cleaned very easily! It is best to put this year’s plants into a nice clean pot, as there may be leftover bugs or parasites, mineral deposits, fertiliser chemical build up, dirt, or fungus that you will want to get rid of before you re-use the pot. Other debris can accumulate that may harbour disease or organisms and cause problems for your plants. Sanitise your pots first to make sure that any spores that might be hanging on from the prior use will be eliminated.
It is best to clean the pot at the end of the season in Autumn so you can put the clean pots away for the coming spring. Here are some tips on how to clean a flower pot.
- A sink or a 20L bucket
- Water
- Bleach for sanitising
- Distilled white vinegar
- Dish soap for cleaning
- Scrub brushes (toothbrush, scouring pad, kitchen size scrub brush, kitchen sink brush for the odd angles)
- Sanitise your pots first to make sure that any spores that might be hanging on from the prior use will be gone. You do not want any leftover fungi contaminating your new plants for this year’s use!
- Fill a clean 20 litre plastic bucket with 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. Wear gloves to protect your hands while you do this!
- Soak pots for a minimum of 10 minutes. Scrub off any dirt or bacteria while they are soaking.
- Now on to the cleaning stage to make sure the bleach is cleaned off entirely so there is no trace of it that might hurt or kill your plants this coming season.
- Fill another clean bucket or sink with room temperature tap water.
- Add vinegar using 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.
- Soak pots for 20-30 minutes with the vinegar mixture. Or you can soak them for up to 24 hours if the pots are really grimy.
- Scrub the pots by hand, using whatever size scrubber you need.
- Give the pots a good wash with soap and water to clean off the vinegar, and then a final water-only rinse to get rid of the vinegar.
- Or feel free to add the second washing and rinsing, by putting the pots in the dishwasher. You might want to clean your dishwasher afterwards though.
- Set out to dry and do not stack until they are completely dry. Mould can form on damp pots – something you do not want.
- You are all set for this year’s clean and healthy plants!
Happy gardening this year! We hope you enjoy our tips on how to clean a flower pot for your indoor or outdoor flowers or plants. Don’t forget to check out our other cleaning tips such as how to clean a light switch, how to clean a watering can, and how to clean your gardening tools.
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