A layer of dust on your monstera’s leaves will not only take away its shine but will also affect the growth of the plant. The accumulated dust will block the sunlight and, as a result, impact the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Thus, it is crucial to clean the leaves of your monstera plant. But how should you clean the leaves? What can I use to clean the leaves? Let’s find out!
Wiping your monstera’s leaves with a cloth, spray cleaning the leaves, or showering your monstera plant is one of the best ways to clean the leaves of your monstera. You should avoid using chemical-based leaf cleansers as those can damage your monstera’s foliage.
You need to make sure you clean your monstera leaves gently as rough handling can easily damage the foliage. Also, using an appropriate cleaning solution and proper temperature water is crucial.
So, in this article, we shall discuss all about cleaning your monstera leaves and some key factors to keep in mind while cleaning them.
Why you should clean monstera leaves?
Most plants, including monstera, produces their food with a process called photosynthesis. In this process, the plant will exchange carbon dioxide and sunlight from its leaves and produce oxygen and sugar, which it utilizes as its energy source.
As a layer of dust gets buildup on the plant leaves, its ability to photosynthesize decreases drastically. That can result in slow growth.
Most houseplants already have a constraint on the right cultural environment, and the dust buildup will only make it challenging.
While the dust and grime buildup won’t eliminate your monstera anytime soon, but it will definitely slow their growth down.
So, if you want to have a thriving plant, make sure you clean them occasionally as you clean the rest of your home.
Also read: Why is my monstera dying?
What to clean monstera leaves with?
There are various options to choose from when it comes to cleaning the leaves of your monstera plant.
While some are chemical-based, which include commercially sold leaf shine, other methods are natural and organic.
It totally depends on you, which route you choose to go to. I personally prefer the organic way.
With that out of the way, let’s have a look at different cleaning solutions that can help you keep your monstera’s leaves healthy and shining:
- Clean cloth and water
- A mix of dishwashing liquid in water
- Diluted Milk and cotton balls
- Natural baby wipes
- Diluted neem oil solution and a cloth
- Diluted lemon water mix
Apart from these, there are some commercial products like Miracle-Gro Leaf Shine and Schultz Plant Shine Leaf Polish that can be used to clean the leaves as well. You can go either route to clean the leaves of your monstera plant.
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Best way to clean monstera leaves
There are two methods you can choose to clean the leaves of your monstera plant. The final choice will depend upon your plant’s size, preference, and availability of resources. Let’s dive into the details right away.
Wipe down monstera leaves
One of the most common ways to clean the leaves of your monstera is by wiping them down.
If you have a large size monstera plant, then moving them will be challenging. Thus, wiping them is one of the best options you have.
The large size leaves need to be supported by one hand, and you can use a cloth and your preferred solution to clean the leaves.
I personally choose a microfiber cloth or cheesecloth as it makes cleaning effortless and easy.
Make sure you ring the cloth and discard excess water as the cloth needs to be moist but not wet.
Always start from the center part of the leaf and move towards the end while supporting the leaves with your other hand.
Make sure you are gentle and careful in the process as you may end up losing the leaf if you go overboard.
Shower your monstera plant
Showering your monstera plant is one of the quickest ways to clean them. While it can be time-consuming to clean every single leaf one by one using a cloth, showering them could be an option for you.
You can carry your monstera to a sink or shower, depending upon the size of your monstera. If you have a pretty large size monstera, this might not be an option for you. But for most beginners, this is a viable option.
Take your monstera to shower or sink, and then use the sprayer at low pressure to wash off the leaves gently. This is similar to what rain does in nature.
The flowing water takes away all the dust and grime buildup, leaving behind lustrous and shiny leaves.
However, it is not that straightforward and easy as it might have sounded. There are a few hazards you need to be aware of.
- High-pressure water can damage the leaves. Thus use a low-pressure sprayer only.
- The water temperature should not be too warm or icy cold. Lukewarm water is the preferred choice as extreme water temperature can shock the plant and permanently damage them.
- Always use a container with a drainage hole in it. If your monstera sits in water for too long, then it might do more harm to the plant.
Clean your monstera’s pot
Cleaning the pot of your monstera plant is also crucial to maintain the decor of your home. While you need not do it every time, you clean your monstera, doing it would do the trick once in a while.
Cleaning the pot helps to get rid of excess salt buildup at the edges of your container. It also helps keep the pests at bay.
Here are a few steps you need to follow:
- Use a spare container and gently remove your monstera from the current pot without disturning its root ball.
- Take the pot to the sink, use a diluted bleach mix(1:10) and scrub the inside out of the pot.
- You may need to brush the white salt buildup to clean it up.
- Rinse the pot thoroughly before putting your monstera back in.
Please note that you should not use any harsh chemicals to clean the pot to impact your monstera plant’s growth.
Also, while you are repotting the plant back, inspect their roots for a routine check just to make sure they are healthy and doing well.
Also read: When should you repot your houseplant?
What you should stay away from?
There are a few popular recommendations we see in the community. But with thorough research, we found that some of them can do more harm than good.
- Mayonnaise
- Wax
- Chemical products
Although these products may work wonders for a while, these products can block the tiny pores present in the leaves our plants use for photosynthesis and transpiration.
Thus, they may end up damaging our plants in the long run. So, it is crucial to avoid such products and go without natural and standard solutions, which we had discussed earlier in this article.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning the leaves of your monstera plant is as important as it is to clean our bodies. The leaves of the plant play a similar role as our skin plays for our bodies. It helps exchange gases, absorb sunlight, and excrete excess water.
Thus, it is crucial to keep the leaves clean so that your monstera can thrive. However, you need to make sure you do it correctly and use the right products to clean the leaves.
Although I have already discussed everything in detail in the article, I would like to warn you of a few things:
- Use room temperature or lukewarm water to clean your monstera’s leaves.
- Avoid using chemicals and wax-based products to clean the leaves as they can block the leaves’ pores.
- Avoid high-pressure water if you are showering your monstera as it can damage the foliage.
Also, make sure you are gentle with the plants. If you try to do things in a hurry, you may end up with damaged leaves and stems.
Source: OHIO state university, Wageningen Research.