How to Clean House Plants Leaves
Do you ever clean your house plants leaves?
Your house plants need regular cleaning the same way you, your kids, and your dog do.
Why? You may ask; “My plants don’t stink! They don’t even look dirty!”
Well, take a closer look!
Your plants may not be stinky, but over time, their foliage collects dust, like any other decorative object around the house. In addition to that, if you mist or give your plants a shower regularly, they may have water stains all over their leaves. Even accidental spills during regular watering can cause water stains on your plants leaves.
Cleaning your house plants leaves is not just an aesthetic matter!
Why is cleaning your house plants leaves important?
Keeping leaves clean helps air filtering and air purifying plants , (all plants in general), absorb more light and perform photosynthesis more effectively.
So, how to clean (and polish) house plants leaves effectively with natural products?
I have tried different products and different ways. Sorry to say there is no REAL/FAST/EFFECTIVE/NATURAL solution all in one!
I do all my cleaning and polishing at home, and honestly, I don’t even do it that often.
Only when needed, only on the plants that need it!
There are two ways to clean house plants leaves and they are based on the type of leaves:
- Fuzzy Leaves: I use a paint brush if needed. (I rarely had to dust a fuzzy leaved plant). The only time I had to intervene on my Panda Plant was to clean fertilizer stains on its fuzzy leaves. In that case I used a wet brush. I let it dry under the sun right away after that!)
- Non-Fuzzy Leaves: See the spray bottle and rag method here below!
Step By Step How To Clean House Plants Leaves
To clean and polish my house plant leaves I use a very simple and inexpensive natural mix I once found on Pinterest from a Chemist’s Blog! I trusted him right away as my brother is a chemist as well and I know they are very knowledgeable people….
All you need is:
- 1/2 cup dairy milk, (dairy only. Anything from skim to whole works as long as it is dairy milk). Milk has beneficial nutrients for plants.
- 2/3 cups tap water
- spray bottle
- 2 rags
This is my Monstera leaf two weeks after her shower…Now you see why she needs a polish, right?
step 1. mix milk and water into spray bottle
step 2. spray mix into one rag
I like to spray the mix generously into the rag rather than directly into the leaf. I do that because I personally don’t like spraying milk and water all over the floor and walls. (If you have kids, you know how sticky milk can be on the floor 😱!
Hey Midlife Mom!
Reclaim 10 Hours in Your Day With My 5 Day E-Mail Guide Without Sacrificing Family Time, Even If You Are Already Multitasking From 5 am Till Midnight
step 3. gently rub your leaf
Once you’ve soaked your rag with the milk and water mix, gently rub your leaf, making sure you are removing both dust and stains. Some stains are more stubborn than others depending on water hardiness and fertilizers used. Also keep in mind that different plants have different leaf textures. For example, the leaf of a Monstera is much thinner and delicate than a Fiddle Leaf Fig leaf!
step 4. gently dry your leaf
Now that you’ve got that leaf all clean, you want to rub it dry with a dry cloth. I use a different colour cloth otherwise I get confused and I end up with two wet cloths!
Why is it important to dry up your leaves? To avoid clogging the pores on your leaves in case you went extra generous with your cleaning mix and in order to avoid further staining of the leaves!
step 5. repeat
Do the same with all the other leaves of your house plant!
You will be quite shocked to notice how dirty your rag will be after just a few leaves! At that point you will realize why you need to clean house plants leaves!
This is my dirty rag after only 5 Monstera leaves!!
step 6. tadaaaah!!! enjoy your beautiful clean house plants leaves
And there you have it!
Wasn’t it worth it? Doesn’t your plant look amazing? Almost fake looking? Naaah, just gorgeous!
Now, you can either save that milk mix in the fridge for a week if you decide to clean more house plants leaves in the next few days or simply toss it and make some more the next time!
Hey Midlife Mom!
Reclaim 10 Hours in Your Day With My 5 Day E-Mail Guide Without Sacrificing Family Time, Even If You Are Already Multitasking From 5 am Till Midnight
Great article! I’m so glad I stumbled on your blogging. Thank you!
Hi Jan!
Thank you so much for the positive feedback! I am glad you enjoyed the article!
Cheers!
Very informative! Only now I knew that we need to clean the leaves of the plants. Amazing!
Thank you Ann!
There is always something to learn…I am still learning a lot about plants too!
Thank you for the info, will definitely try this.