Plants liven up your home, whether they’re actually alive or not! However, the effect of your plants’ bright flowers and green leaves is dampened when they’re covered in dust. Plants normally get cleaned by rain and weather so when you bring them inside, you have to do the cleaning for them. Read our tips on plant cleaning to make this chore as easy and quick as possible.
Fake Houseplants
Here are a few options for the light cleaning of your fake house plants:
- Dust regularly. Once a week take a rag, feather duster, or even an old paintbrush and go over the whole plant.
- You can also use a can of compressed air to blow away dust and debris.
- Vacuum your plants. Cover the opening of the attachment hose with a nylon stocking (you can secure it with a rubber band) to prevent parts of the plant from getting sucked up.
- Place artificial flowers in a bag with a 1/4 cup of salt. Gently shake the bag and then remove the flowers. They’ll emerge clean and dust-free.
If you’ve neglected this chore for a while, your plant will have some build-up and might need a slightly deeper cleaning. Use a damp cloth to dust, or if your plant is very dirty, wash it. Place the plant inside the sink and use the spray nozzle or take it outside and use the hose. Turn your hose’s setting to mist or shower and spray the plant. It’s a good idea to cover and seal the container of the plant in plastic so water doesn’t affect the pot’s finish or collect at the plant’s base.
Note: You can use water on nylon and silk houseplants. However, just be careful to avoid getting any arrangement that uses floral tape overly wet. The moisture will weaken the glue in the tape.
Real Plants
This one is easy! You can dust the plant or wash it. For smaller plants, put them inside your sink and spray them down using your spray nozzle. For larger plants, take them outside and use the hose. No need to worry about getting the base of real plants wet, of course, so just lightly spray down the plant. Leave it outside to dry.
Plant Cleaning
Plants in your home should add a look of freshness. That can’t happen if they’re covered in dust! Use these tips to maintain your plants and make plant cleaning a breeze!