The Right Way to Clean Dusty Houseplant Leaves
Whether increasing biophilia with a houseplant jungle or protecting a few friends over the winter, interior plantings enrich our connection to nature. Research shows houseplants improve well-being and possibly even air quality in our homes.
If you’re reading about how to clean the dusty leaves of indoor growers, we know you’re already on board with the value of houseplants. Dusting their leaves isn’t as exciting as watching them flourish or flower, but it is an essential component of nurturing their overall health.
To keep indoor specimens in tip-top shape for their best growth and for healthy indoor spaces, it’s helpful to check the leaf surfaces periodically. The occasional task of properly cleaning dusty houseplant leaves improves their vigor and reduces potential pests. Here, we’ll explore why it’s valuable, the best methods for your selections, and the pests it may prevent.
Why It Matters
In nature, rainfall and breezes keep foliage clean and productive. Without access to cleansing rain and air movement, we can refresh foliage as part of regular care.
If you’ve traveled down a dry, dirt road or dusty highway and noticed how roadside specimens show visible effects (like dieback or stunted growth), you’ve seen the impacts of blocked access to light and air moisture. That’s a dramatic example of dust’s impact, but the concept is similar in houseplants.
Occasionally dusting houseplant leaves:
- Increases light exposure – As grit and grime build on surfaces, they block a leaf’s ability to photosynthesize. Reducing light exposure inhibits optimal growing conditions and energy absorption.
- Promotes transpiration and evaporation – Dust inhibits the processes leaves use to “breathe” through tiny pores on their surfaces.
- Helps prevent pests – Common houseplant insects like aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs thrive in dry, dusty situations.
- Reduces allergens – While houseplants help filter the air, particulate accumulation adds to household allergens.
When to Dust
Accumulation and frequency vary according to the environment. It’s best to keep an eye on the leaf surfaces with a regular check at watering sessions. Take action when a layer of dust is visible on the plant or nearby surface. This could be monthly or every few months, depending on outdoor conditions and how particles move into our homes.
Clean the foliage only when a layer is visible or evident by feel. These indicators avoid disturbing the foliage more than necessary.
Gentle Wipe
A soft cloth like microfiber or a sponge is a gentle, easy way to wipe away pesky particulates. This works well for smooth, broadleaf houseplants and orchids.
Slightly moisten the cloth to better capture the debris. You can also mist them before wiping them to lift dust and pests.
Sweep the cloth on both sides of each leaf as you go, using a light hand. In addition to removing build-up, wiping keeps the leaves shiny and glossy.
Thorough Rinse
For those fine-leaved plants too delicate or numerous to wipe individually, consider a bath in the sink or shower. Do this during a regular watering session, and water first to help the soil stay in place. Cover the pot and soil with a plastic bag to keep it from washing out if helpful.
Spray foliage all around for a good wash. Use room temperature or lukewarm water to avoid shocking the foliage and roots with cold or hot water. In warm months, spraying softly with a hose sprayer outside is convenient. Hold their stems for support. After, give plants a little shake and let them drip dry.
Mist small specimens or those that are delicate against a stronger stream of water.
Give it a Dip
Some houseplants like ferns do well with a swish through a tub or sinkful of tepid water. Turn the plant on its side or upside down and submerge its stems in the bath.
This is a great option for small pots or those without a lot of soil movement where full stems hold it in place. Again, a plastic bag around the pot helps keep soil from washing out.
If plants have a thick layer of dust or a history of insect issues, add a few drops of castile soap to the bath. This helps remove built-up dirt and insects, too.
A Soft Brush
Plants with fuzzy leaves, like African violets, begonia, peperomia, and Cuban oregano, may benefit from another technique. An extra soft paintbrush or duster swept across the surface helps displace the dusty layer. It also protects selections who don’t like their foliage to get wet.
Some houseplant enthusiasts use a can of compressed air, held at a distance, to blow the dust from between hairs. I skip this one over concerns that I’ll freeze or damage the foliage and stems, but it is an easy method.
Insects Drawn to Dusty Houseplants
Cleanliness is key to staving off common houseplant pests. Remove damaged, diseased, and dead leaves as a part of regular maintenance and keep them from accumulating in the pot’s base.
Common pests happen. They include spider mites, aphids, and mealybugs. These are more likely to inhabit dry, dusty surfaces or specimens stressed by moisture fluctuations (periods of under or overwatering). Indoors, plants lack the benefit of naturally occurring predatory insects to manage populations. Separate any pest-laden plants from surrounding growers to reduce the spread.
Treatment
For small populations, run plants under spray or stream of water to displace the pests. The stream detaches the mouthparts of piercing, sapsucking insects from their bodies. Horticultural soaps or oils like neem control more severe infestations. Plant-based insecticidal oils include garlic extract, clove, rosemary, mint, and cinnamon oils and are effective organic controls.
In severe infestations, it helps to unpot the specimen and give it a full wash in the sink or bath, roots and all. Clean the pot and replace it with fresh potting media. Follow up on treatment options.
Aphids
Aphids are prolific reproducers. The sap-sucking insects feed on tissues with an indiscriminate palette that includes garden and indoor growers. Aphids are pear-shaped and soft-bodied in light yellow, green, pink, brown, or black. They colonize in large numbers on the undersides of leaves.
The insects prefer soft, new growth, including tender shoots, young foliage, buds, and blooms. Small outbreaks don’t pose a severe threat, but they stress plants as numbers grow. They also leave behind sugary honeydew, leading to unattractive black, sooty mold. Aphids spread fungal spores and are vectors for viruses.
Severely impacted selections may show curled leaves, yellowing, and stunted growth. Symptoms of virus or fungal diseases like leaf spot, mottling, and distortion may appear.
Prevention
Since aphids congregate in numbers, pruning off impacted sections may eliminate small infestations. To prevent aphids, water consistently to achieve evenly moist soils (not periods of prolonged drought followed by spells of damp soils). Aphids gravitate toward drought-stressed specimens over healthy, well-watered ones.
Spider Mites
Like aphids, spider mites are sap-suckers that live on the undersides of leaves. With their piercing mouthparts, they feed on cellular tissue. You may not see the tiny creatures without a magnifying glass, but their fine webbing on buds, stems, and leaves gives them away.
Colonies live near leaf veins and mid-ribs underneath leaves. The females lay eggs, and the larvae quickly feed on sap and tissues. Adults feed and produce the tight webs.
Foliage shows pale spots, light yellowing, and stippling on surfaces and may turn bronze. Leaves become stiff and curl, leading to early drop. Blooms wither and discolor.
Spider mites occur in dry and dusty conditions. They flock to plants experiencing drought stress.
Prevention
To prevent spider mites, maintain evenly moist soils. Water fluctuations give spider mites the opportunity to increase, further weakening their hosts.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs are soft-bodied and look like tiny tufts of white cotton on leaves and stems. Infestations are visible by the insects themselves and by yellowing, wilting, or stunted leaves. The insects feed on sap and lay eggs in cellular tissues.
Related to aphids, they leave behind a sticky “honeydew.” This can lead to unattractive and unhealthy black, sooty mold.
Early outbreaks are easy to control, but if not caught in time, mealy recurs and is tough to get rid of entirely.
Prevention
A hearty rinse followed by a Q-tip treatment with alcohol is effective at instantly reducing early populations. Other deterrents like repotting and horticultural oils are good options for more severe cases. In prolonged infestations, it’s best to discard the unhealthy specimen to prevent the spread.
Aim for consistent watering to meet the variety’s best cultural requirements. Avoid too much fertilizer. Many pests enjoy tender new growth and high nitrogen levels; excess fertilizer promotes both.
