How to Clean Water Spots on Leafy Friends

So… If you are anything like me and shop at local nurseries, you will probably end up with plants that have crusty water spots, especially in regions that have really hard water. A little of these won’t kill the plants, but leaving the mineral deposits on the leaves for too long is not a great idea. The white spots on gorgeous leaves will prevent those spots from photosynthesizing, which ends up making your leaves look permanently spotty. 🙁

For a quick way to clean the leaves:

• Dilute about 2 cups of water with 1 table spoon of household distilled vinegar. I usually just fill my spray bottle with water and then add 1 tablespoon of vinegar at the end.

• Spray down the water spots, use a fiber cloth/cotton cloth to wipe off.

• Aroids, shiny, waxy leaves, are usually safe. If you plant on using this on some other difficult plants, you may have to google if vinegar is safe.

For a less invasive way, I use a fiber cloth and gently “buff” out my leaves. This really only works for bigger, leafy plants (which are the majority of my plants).

If you want to go the extra mile, I use a neem oil mix to shine the leaves and prevent pests. I try to spray neem oil mix every 2 weeks.

Here is my mix (which is quite heavy – I have heard people who uses waaaay less). 8oz of water, 1 tablespoon of neem extract (which is what you see in the Youtube video above).

Here are some neem oil products I have used:

• Pure (4oz) organic – On SALE!

• This one is easier to use, but in my opinion not as strong as mixing it myself. 2-pack, premixed, diluted.