How to clean your Houseplants
INSIDE : Want sparkling houseplant leaves? This simple guide shows you the best way to deep clean your plants using dish soap and a microfiber cloth for better health. Stop letting dust stunt your plant’s growth! Learn how to safely and effectively clean your houseplants and keep them healthy all year long.
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This post has been updated since it’s original publish date of March 2020.
Do you wipe the dust off your coffee table, but forget your house plants? Turns out, that layer of dust on your Fiddle Leaf Fig is hurting it more than you think.
Why Houseplant Leaves Get Dusty (And Why You Must Clean Them)
No matter how careful you are, with time plants get dirty and dusty – just like everything else in our homes. And the larger the leaf on your plant, the more dust and grime will eventually build up and accumulate. Ew, look at that dusty leaf of mine, below!
Dust blocks light needed for photosynthesis and clogs the leaf pores (stomata), which can stunt growth and attract pests. Cleaning your plant leaves helps not only for how they look, but it also is a huge benefit for having healthy plants.
Best way to clean plant leaves
The main way to keep your plants leaves looking their best is with an occasional sprucing up. About once a month, you should go around to each plant and remove any dead or yellowing leaves with a pair of pruners or sharp scissors.
I typically use a damp paper towel after tidying up the leaves, to do a light cleaning on each leaf. However, while a paper towel and water do not remove all the dust or leave those leaves sparkly clean it is a good quick in-between clean option.
Leaf Cleaning Mixture
I filled a disposable plastic container with warm water and just one single squirt of dish soap for my cleaning solution. Be sure to use luke warm to warm water, as this won’t shock your plants like cold water might.
The dish soap should be a mild, scent-free, non-detergent soap (like plain liquid Castile soap). Using too much or using harsh detergent can damage the plant’s waxy cuticle.
Next, grab a soft microfiber cloth to help get all that pesky dust off your plant leaves. Microfiber cloths are made from very small fibers. Wash cloths and other soft clothes may just push the dirt and dust around, but the split fibers of a microfiber cloth helps latch onto dirt, dust and even some bacteria.
How to get dust off plant leaves
Now that you have your soap and water solution, let’s talk about how to clean the plant’s leaves.
Dunk your microfiber cloth in the cleaning mixture and then squeeze out any excess liquid. Gently wipe both sides of all of the leaves to remove any dust and grime.
Next, supporting your leaf with one hand and use your other hand to gently wipe down the leaf with your microfiber cloth.
Be sure to wipe the tops and undersides of the leaf. This will remove any grime and also keep any pests from living on your plants.
Just like when you dust a bookcase in your home, it is important to start the cleaning process with your plant’s TOP leaves first and then work your way down.
Tips for Cleaning Large-Leaf Plants (Fiddle Leaf Fig, Monstera, and Pothos)
With larger plants like mature Rubber Plants or large Fiddle Leaf Figs, this can be more difficult. I recommend getting out a small step ladder or stool to reach those top leaves first.
Sometimes even using Microfiber dusting gloves is a smart and efficient way to dust larger plant leaves.
You can see the huge difference below when I cleaned just half of this Fiddle Fig’s big leaf using a microfiber, soap and water solution. Wow.
Need some more plant care posts? You’ll love these :
Rinsing off your clean leaves
Just because your leaves are sparkly looking, it’s not quite time to stop yet!
Rinse out your soap and water container with clean fresh water only. Get a new microfiber cloth if you need to and do one final wipe down of all the leaves with pure water. This will remove any of the little soap that is still left on the leaves, to ensure the leaf can breathe and function properly.
Honestly, I was shocked at how sparkling my plant leaves were after spending just about 30 minutes on this huge over 6′ tall Fiddle Leaf Fig. I think from here on out, I am going to do this on a quarterly basis, so 4 times a year.
I think doing a quicker damp paper towel cleaning would be more than sufficient in-between the microfiber and soap cleaning!
What are other ways to clean your Houseplants?
SHOWER –
During the summer months, I love bringing all the houseplants I can carry outside into the shade for a little summer hose shower time! During the cooler months, putting your houseplants in the shower or bath works, too.
The gentle rain from a hose or shower will help remove dust from the leaves and give them some additional moisture.
SOFT PAINTBRUSH –
For some plants that don’t have big smooth leaves, using a microfiber cloth might be very difficult. If that is the case, using a soft paintbrush to remove dust from plants works well. Gently brush any dust off the leaves with your brush.
COMPRESSED AIR –
Some plants may have fine hairs or even spines and spikes and using a cloth or even a brush might not work at all. In that case, lightly spraying your plant with compressed air is a great option. Spray air from an air compressor can blow away dust and dirt. Also using an air-compressor can from a hardware store or a plant nursery works just as well.
Want to be a #plantlady, but need a bit of help? You will love my KEEP PLANTS ALIVE checklist with 6 super helpful tips! Signup below to get access to this checklist guide.
What should do you need to clean indoor plant leaves?
To clean indoor plant leaves, use gentle methods like wiping with a damp microfiber cloth, giving them a shower rinse (lukewarm water), or using a soft brush for fuzzy types.
Address pests with diluted Castile soap or neem oil sprays while supporting leaves to prevent damage. Regular dusting keeps them healthy, allowing better light absorption for photosynthesis.
- Damp Paper Towel
- MicroFiber Cloth + Water
- Cheese cloth + Water
- Soft Paintbrush
- Soft Microfiber gloves
- Shower Method
- Compressed Air
- Lime Juice OR Lemon Juice + Water Solution
- Milk + Water solution
How to Clean your Houseplant Leaves
It’s time for some Spring Cleaning and that counts for your plants, too. Learn how to clean your Houseplants to remove all the dust from the leaves.
Materials
- Disposable Container to hold cleaning mixture
- Microfiber Cloth
- 1 squirt of Dish Soap
- Disposable Container to hold water to rinse
Instructions
- Start by filling a disposable plastic container with warm water and add one single squirt of dish soap for the cleaning solution.
- Next, grab a soft microfiber cloth to help get all the pesky dust off the plant leaves and dunk into the cleaning mixture. Squeeze out any excess liquid.
- Supporting your leaf with one hand and use the other hand to gently wipe down the leaf with your microfiber cloth. Wipe both sides of all of the leaves to remove all dust and grime.
- You will see a dramatic difference after cleaning the leaves using this microfiber, soap and water solution.
- Dont' stop quite yet. Get a new microfiber cloth and fresh water to do one final wipe down of all the leaves. This will remove any of the little soap that is still left on the leaves, to ensure the leaf can breathe and function properly.
- Repeat this process about 4 times a year.
Notes
- Be sure to use luke warm to warm water, as this won’t shock your plants like cold water might.
- It is important to start the cleaning process with your plant’s TOP leaves first and then work your way down. With larger plants like mature Rubber Plants or large Fiddle Leaf Figs, this can be more difficult. I recommend getting out a small step ladder or stool to reach those top leaves first.
If you love learning about plants, then be sure to grab my Happy Houseplants eBook now and get ALL the plant scoop!!! It’s perfect for both first time plant owners and the seasoned planter owner looking to dig in deeper with their plants.
My Happy Houseplants ebook talks about how to not kill all the plants and also includes:
– A helpful checklist for the 6 steps to keep your plants alive + thriving.
– A deep dive on 7 trending “it” plants (like that finicky Fiddle Leaf Fig!)
-5 plant printables to hang in your home.
Get it now, here.
Looking for other ways to get in some cleaning in your home? Check out these…
- Clean Garden Tools in the Fall
- Cleaning Teak Furniture
- How to Clean Saltillo Tile
- Coat Closet Cleanup
- How to Clean your Houseplant leaves
- How to Clean a Wooden Cutting Board
Love plants like I do? You might like some of my other Plant Care + Tip posts.
