Cleaning Houseplant Leaves! | How To Clean Hard Water Spots from Indoor Plants!

Cleaning plant leaves is important for their health! In nature, plants are periodically cleansed by falling rain, but indoor plants need to be cleaned as well. This video shows you my process for cleaning hard water spots from my house plant leaves. I do clean all of my houseplants in a rotating system, so I clean a few every few days to help keep them healthy & pest free!
instagram:
@harli_g_
Plant Products I Love!
DISCLAIMER! I am not sponsored by any brands listed below (although I wish I was :P) These are products I genuinely love & use in my own household. I do, however, get a small cut if purchased through the links I provided, but if you choose to purchase not through my links I totally understand. I would never recommend products I don’t genuinely love. Promise!
My Fav Soil:
Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil 8qt $11.37
amzn.to/2MdZLxe
Espoma Perlite 8qt $12.23
amzn.to/2x0Wc86
My Fav Plant Foods:
Espoma Organic Grow Fertilizer 24oz $13.75
amzn.to/2QhqLiQ
Espoma Organic Cactus Plant Food 8oz $5.96
amzn.to/2QgeCuz
Pest Control:
Fungus Gnats Control: Mosquito Bits 8oz $11.51
amzn.to/2wXZ1Xz
Kill Pretty Much Any Bugs: Organic South Neem Oil for the Garden 16oz $16.47
amzn.to/2Qig9QU
Humidifier
amzn.to/2Srodzx
Plant Products I Love!
DISCLAIMER! I am not sponsored by any brands listed below (although I wish I was :P) These are products I genuinely love & use in my own household. I do, however, get a small cut if purchased through the links I provided, but if you choose to purchase not through my links I totally understand. I would never recommend products I don’t genuinely love. Promise!
My Fav Soil:
Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil 8qt $11.37
amzn.to/2MdZLxe
Espoma Perlite 8qt $12.23
amzn.to/2x0Wc86
My Fav Plant Foods:
Espoma Organic Grow Fertilizer 24oz $13.75
amzn.to/2QhqLiQ
Espoma Organic Cactus Plant Food 8oz $5.96
amzn.to/2QgeCuz
Pest Control:
Fungus Gnats Control: Mosquito Bits 8oz $11.51
amzn.to/2wXZ1Xz
Kill Pretty Much Any Bugs: Organic South Neem Oil for the Garden 16oz $16.47
amzn.to/2Qig9QU
Humidifier
amzn.to/2Srodzx

[@TheSoaringSeawardFamily]

Yesssssss !!!!!!! I totally failed last week ! I gave u a shout out on my last video ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️!!!! Totally gonna try this

[@KnotDude]

"pre sqooze" lol this is VERY helpful! Shook you took a sip 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@kimsmith2781]

I lol at pre squoze😂😂

[@Everythingsjustpeachy]

Ah! As a new plant mom, who went from 0 houseplants to a few and now even the beginnings of an actual garden (yay!) your video's are just so helpful. My newest baby is actually a lemon tree so hopefully I'll always have some lemon on hand to help take care of her brothers and sisters lol. THANK YOU!

[@JescaHer]

Those little hard water spots can be so annoying! I recently did a video on the same thing on my channel! ☀️ I use one teaspoon of white vinegar in a gallon of water or just scale it down to 1/4 tsp of vinegar in 4 cups of water! It works great and the plants look so pretty and shiny afterwards! ✨🌱🥰 Loved the video, you’re hilarious 😂

[@loreeenacify]

Thank you for a simple and fast recipe! Can’t wait to clean my plants with it!

[@amandabbee]

That little vinegar with 4 cups?!

[@mycharmedunicorn8715]

Did anyone try this? Does it work?

[@joy844]

@@mycharmedunicorn8715 it worked on my anthuriums !!!

[@leemac1659]

@@mycharmedunicorn8715 Works great! I used the lemon, diluted.

[@petercardona1559]

Rubber Tree Plant owners... The Struggle is real!

[@HarliG]

YESSSSSS

[@zemuszero5738]

Yes it is. That’s how I ended up here

[@yarreimoses5136]

How do u clean the rubber tree

[@dynan-spired6377]

Essential oils? That sounds like a new video! Mostly because I don't understand lol.

[@andreadelcampo3491]

Omg thanks Harli! I’ve been struggling with those spots for months! Gonna go squeeze some lemons! Luv u and ur videos!

[@jessicamorris9190]

First time watcher and I just love you! Definitely subscribed to your channel and look forward to watching more of your videos! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@toni-6673]

I find all your videos very helpful AND entertaining

[@HarliG]

Wow! That's such a compliment, thank you so much!

[@caraleighcranford4702]

I’ve heard that cats also don’t like the smell/taste of citrus. This could help with my cats wanting to chew on my plant’s leaves!

[@HarliG]

oh! That is a great idea! I may have to look into that a bit more! Thanks!

[@andreacarbajal8117]

Did that worked for you? My cats loooooove to mess with my plants and I don’t know what to do.

[@caraleighcranford4702]

Andrea Carbajal they do seem less interested. They’ll sniff but not bite

[@boingboingburger]

Caraleigh Cranford I have six cats and they liked to play with my plants. So I bought them a baucarnea and some nepeta cataria and barley grass. Now they don’t try to chew my plants because they have their own plants. I hope it can help.

[@MissMaam18]

I love you for this because my roommates cat is driving me nuts 😭😭😭😬😬😬😬

[@miriamcervantes1640]

I always love cleaning the leaves of my plants! It’s so soothing! I might make a video on the same subject and what I use to keep them healthy & shiny! 😍 thank you! You’re so motivating!!

[@HarliG]

I agree! No matter how messy my house gets, cleaning the plant leaves make a HUGE difference in he overall feel. I’m subscribing now 😊❤️

[@manjitmarwaha8035]

I linked you, but you have not created a video yet🙃

[@ramonaanderson6527]

Informative, short, sweet & straight to the point❤❤❤

[@prideolea]

I’m going definitely trying this next time I clean my plants.

[@HarliG]

LMK how it goes!

[@phoebeveitch3032]

Could u possibly do an updated plant tour! i loveeeeee ur vids xx

[@missjwashington2777]

I love your home. Your plants are beautiful.

[@MyCleanLeaves]

Love this! I JUST did a video on how to Clean Leaves and detour pests based on your older video 🤣

[@mizarosa76]

Thank you! This helped me remove the water stains in my new Peace Lily plant.

[@amoore0713]

I use essential oils and it helps a lot!! I have a 2 oz spray bottle and put 10 drops of lemon oil or citrus fresh ( a blend of 5 citrus oils together), Leaves look great and no pests so far!

[@renal3090]

You haven't had any superficial leaf damage from the essential oils at all?

[@shirleyb6533]

The only essential oil that I have is Orange is that okay to use

[@amoore0713]

@@renal3090 no damage at all!

[@amoore0713]

@@shirleyb6533 honestly im not sure! I would think any citrus oil would work in my opinion

[@shirleyb6533]

@@amoore0713 ok thanks

[@audreyzwart3658]

Pre squose lol, very helpful!! I had such a hard time with my hard water stains! Thank you so much!!

[@foedickson6128]

This is awesome, thank you. Can wait to try!

[@kimsmith2781]

Pre squoze Harli? You crack me up.😂😂Great video by the way .

[@dj7200]

Will be using this on my fiddle plant, you are beautiful btw! Thanks ❤🙏

[@kaylaw6057]

Yess I so needed this video

[@unovlogs1989]

Hey Harley how do you make the leaves shiny? Is it safe to use distilled water with vegetable oil? Thanks!

[@mrodriguez8515]

Thank you SO much!!! I did this and my plants look amazing!!

[@HarliG]

Yay! I am so happy to hear that! (:

[@MsDevicious]

Yesssss. I needed this so bad! Thank you :D

[@MsDevicious]

@Love you so much I'm from Denmark.

[@tishmccready1103]

Thank you so much!!! This works perfectly! I'm sharing your video!

[@SarahBird]

Great video again, thanks Harli! Lemon and lime juice will be my next step to get cleaning! 💚💚💚

[@HarliG]

Heck yes! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch! I hope it works well for you (:

[@SarahBird]

@@HarliG It worked great, thank you! Definitely gonna keep cleaning them like this from now on!

[@nm6818]

How would you use essential oils to clean? Do you mix it with the water and lemon juice? Thanks!

[@Zamarae]

Harli is a cool name! Thank you for this video, I cleaned the water spots off the glass containers with vinegar, but I wasn’t sure if vinegar was good the plants so I’ll try lemon/lime juice! Also I notice my succulents have are prone to spots the spots

[@gisellemedina2404]

i always wondered about those water marks, thank u for this!

[@HarliG]

I'm glad it helped! Thanks for watching!

[@hollyhasegawa4240]

Lol! love your humor Harli. Thank you for the tip, I was wondering what I could use to clean the leaves of my plants. Have fun see you next time, Bye for now.

[@HarliG]

Thanks Holly! I always look forward to reading your comments. You are so lovely & kind hearted! Have a good day!

[@hollyhasegawa4240]

@@HarliG Both you and your Mom are so amazing, I just love you both, thanks again.

[@Bbbrahim]

Does milk work well in anyway? My mom used it when she was growing up and wiped her leaves with it all the time!

[@RadioImmunoAssay2]

I've used some apple cider vinegar (bc I had some on hand) & water, but I like the idea of filter water😊 Your mom also suggested milk, which I've tried!

[@HarliG]

Yes! The milk thing works really well! I no longer buy regular milk & almond milk doesn't work the same though so I had to try something else :P White vinegar also works well! Vinegar works for everything I think haha

[@mekawreka]

Worked great on all of my pothos tysm!

[@elvandylis867]

👏Very useful, I hadn't thought of cleaning leaves with Lemon juice! 👌🌹😍

[@HarliG]

Natural, & works like a dream! (:

[@kimjohnson1254]

I just got a fiddle leaf and Chinese money plant over the weekend. I also have a ZZ plant. I live in hard water ally. LOL. This is so helpful. I just became a plant mama a few weeks ago, but have been an essential oil mama for years. I have Lime and lemon oil. How many drops should I use with the water? Essential oils can be very potent.

[@Klayhamn]

OMG - my scindapsus pictus exotica came with a super weird white residue that the nursery said was "limescale" - it really looks like the residue you show in the video, just x100 times worse and covering the entire leaf (for a few leaves) i tried your method and it actually seems to work!

[@dawgyv72]

lmao, okay I usually just watch these videos for the info without subscribing but I was laughing the whole time so I had to!!!

[@kathygilbreath6073]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 sooo funny at the end and great info. Might have to try it out. I love your earrings.

[@HarliG]

Thank you!!

[@peaches3450]

“Squoze” 🤣

[@chrisbruno1343]

yes we're adding a new word to our vocabulary as well as learning how to clean our plant leaves...lol

[@deanwinchester6654]

Good video, going to try this out on my Money Tree.

[@marajhindreams]

Does the neem oil/water mixture also remove hard water deposits? And what kind of essential oils do you recommend?

[@ColieBear18]

I just used neem oil mixed with water and it didn't work :(

[@LisaMichelleMcGalliard]

This worked great! Thank you!

[@DixieNormus710]

I like to use distilled water with a tiny bit of dish soap. I have used lemon juice in the past and it does work wonderfully. However, one KZbinr used the lemon water on her phalaenopsis orchids and all of the leaves turned yellow and brown and were severely burned! I don't know if it was too concentrated or what, but after that video I decided to never take the chance with lemon water again lol. I don't like to use anything but water as a general rule but when it comes to hard water spots, you're right, plain water don't cut it!

[@devendrasinghrathore4809]

Yours are not even not that bad..mine are the ones I don't even have words to describe!!

[@leomae3966]

Do you think misting plant foliage with this mixture will work the same? If the dust isn’t too built up that is. Somehow my room gets really dusty quick and for having 40+ plants in a small room it’s quite a bit of work doing all leaves by hand

[@spiritdouglass5389]

I would loke to know the answer to this too..

[@judyludlum2371]

Thanks! I got a ZZ plant awhile ago that came with those deposits.

[@HarliG]

Perfect timing then!

[@slavenabalkanska7830]

Gonna try this on my Benjamin tree. I think I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks...

[@stockinettestitch]

Perfect timing! I just got my Hoya Carnosas Tri in the mail yesterday and had to wipe them off they were so dirty. And sure enough, the spots came back. I think I have lemon juice but I’m going to try white vinegar first just because it’s so much cheaper at Costco. Thanks for the video/idea.

[@HarliG]

Yes! White vinegar will work great as well! Just be sure to dilute it a bit more(:

[@stockinettestitch]

Harli G Good info - thx

[@janieharvey9871]

Great info! Enjoyed watching-you’re so cute! Tfs!

[@reneeallen646]

What Knot dude said. Also...You crack me up.

[@brownjo1287]

Harli! Have you ever had a problem with black/brown spots or blight?

[@joycetheobald1717]

I like to turn old socks inside out and use those, because the nubby side picks up dust and dirt. I will use your lemon lime water method! 😎

[@laurisgv97]

What essential oil would you use?

[@TheFloridaBikeVlogger]

dang, you got a lot of plants, I hope oneday I am stacked up like that.

[@anaraneses9919]

What if i dont have essential oil is it okay only a lemonjuice

[@pVrocker95]

Pre squoze omg love it

[@angelicacantu3845]

What are your thoughts on Leaf Shiner? There is so much mix rewiews about it🤔

[@HarliG]

I personally don't use it!

[@kriskrischi7571]

LOL! You crack me up! We would have so much fun hanging out together, haha. Love the tip! Will definitely be trying this on my dusty leaves. =)

[@HarliG]

Well if you're even in UT LMK :P

[@kriskrischi7571]

@@HarliG For sure!!

[@melissavaquera635]

Milk(I used organic) and a paper towel worked on my ZZ plant😃

[@jayelynne2374]

Pre squoze 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I love her!!

[@HarliG]

I know I'm so dumb sometimes haha love you too!

[@princesshoneydrizzle]

wait Harli can i use eucalyptus oil or is that too strong also love you and your vids you're so fun

[@galemiller7422]

How much lemon to how much water do you use on your plants to get the deposits off? just started happening and it looks terrible I'm afraid to do this! Help 🙏

[@thesodathief]

0:47 Shakespeare quivers at the existence of Harli G...casually inventing words while discussing houseplant care... truly magnificent

[@HarliG]

😂😂😂

[@alixe4226]

Would this harm plants like anthurium clarinervium since they’re velvety? Really wanna try this but I’m terrified 😭

[@luchatijuanera3636]

It worked !

[@aliasgarden5876]

Great video

[@meninahaquel]

I would assume vinegar should work too?

[@rafelvie]

Will this work on plants with soft/velvet like a jewel orchid?

[@HarliG]

Yes, just dilute it a bit more than you normally would & be very gentle

[@mollyrose1681]

Can this be refrigerated? (Kinda dumb question). Because I feel like I’ll use it more

[@HarliG]

yes definitely

[@PamsPrettyPlants]

Dollar stores usually have microfiber cloths! 🤑

[@livethelife8458]

Your looking beautiful, good organic way to clean 🌱 does it work on maranta prayer plants I pick one up from HD and had hard spots on it?

[@HarliG]

Yes! It will work well on them as well (:

[@livethelife8458]

Do you think it will burn it because it has a velvet texture and what will be the racial lemon to water?

[@DragonBornQueen]

This might be a weird question but, have you tried this on your Calathea or Marantas? Idk why but I feel like they are a bit more sensitive than other perhaps because they are porous and absorb whatever runs on their leaves? Would like to know what you think!

[@HarliG]

I do use this mixture on my calathea plants & haven't noticed any excessive browning or discoloration!

[@bozenawenzel9168]

Thanks a lot!

[@annie8995]

Speaking of water, do you filter your water for those water you use for watering your plants?

[@HarliG]

I try to use filtered water where I can! But for some plants I haven't had an issue using tap water that has sat our for a couple of days (:

[@malakjudah4080]

pre-squoze lol i like that!

[@200amna]

it worked yaaaaaaay. I tried water on my new Maranta and guess what, did not do anything. I got this Maranta from the houseplant shop and it was all whity. I used kitchen napkin thought and it was fine . thank you

[@vamplouise]

Hi what would you suggest the ratio is? Thanks

[@HarliG]

I personally like to use equal parts (:

[@anneoverton5677]

love ur channel! just wanted to add that everytime microfiber is washed, it releases micro fibers into the environment. these are non-degradable, synthetic (plastic) cloths that are actually really bad for the environment.

[@angieyaeger2]

Pre-squoze hahahah I love that your brain is as efficient as mine!! #relatable

[@mithleshgupta4561]

Does vinegar works ?

[@reygenbougen_861]

I use the same things but one drop of natural sope is a good add to the 'drink'. But just a little drop so you dont damage the plants and mix it really good. It should be a natural one too, so there are almoust no chemicals. And please, if you use this do it in the nighttime (or place youre plant in a room with low or no light for a few hours) because if the leaves, that are getting sprayed or washed with this, stay in bright light they can get burnt verryyyyy easily.

[@ElectricalUp]

Nice Good

[@fayemartin465]

how would you make leaf shine for your houseplants

[@HarliG]

My mom uses milk & it works really well, but I’ve also heard wiping them down with banana peels shined them up really well!

[@marialooksaround]

Hard water stains don’t really bother me, still great tip if they ever would.. on a related note: some of my plants get really dusty! Showering doesn’t help. Wiping every single leaf on a huge ficus benjamini took a loooot of time. So I only did it once 😅 How do you handle this problem? You have a lot more plants than I do, can‘t imagine you wiping them all regularly 🤔

[@HarliG]

It is definitely an ongoing battle with dust around here! I try to clean a few plants every day or so & I just rotate my way through them all! I mostly do it to help deter bugs & things like that. It's a great opportunity to inspect each plant (:

[@catrat8554]

I will clean my pants using orange juice 😜 I should be different ... thank you harly for this video We have benefited greatly ❤❤🌹🌿

[@HarliG]

HAHAHA LMK how it goes

[@DiywithButtacupsCreations]

I seen on the internet to spritz with water alcohol mix ?? But I'm scared to try it lol

[@HarliG]

I do that occasionally as well! it works great, but I wouldn't recommend it for delicate leafed plants!

[@lovinghobby9072]

How much lemon juce to water?

[@mvbladyjinx]

Essential oils??? Please do a video on that!!!

[@anaraneses9919]

Nw: hey guys it s harli😁😀

[@plantedindetroit5893]

ugh my rubber plant was so dirty!

[@Lotte00392]

Doesn't the acid damage the leaves?

[@HarliG]

Nope (: It is diluted so it isn't too strong.

[@nikhiljadhav6254]

You can try fresh alovera gel

[@ElectricalUp]

Good morning

[@carolyncoppola974]

I always love your videos! Can I use the lemon/lime mixture on my snake plants? I recently became an OCD plant fanatic and have acquired 7 snake plants within a week!!! 😮. Snake Plants Anonymous (SPA) anyone???? But can you really ever have TOO many plants????

[@HarliG]

Yes! It would work great 😊

[@T.T.64]

Can try apply little amount of olive oil.

[@sachinthomas7042]

I used lemon juice and water and my calathea leaves started burning 🥵. I've currently lost 4 leaves. Only 3 more to go.

[@87FloJo]

I use vinegar & water on all my plants EXCEPT my Prayer plants!! Let's just say my Prayer plants didn't take it so well :'( THANKFULLY the plant didn't die, it only lost 2 leaves but never again!! Lol

[@HarliG]

they are finicky little buzzards! I'm happy to hear it didn't die! fingers crossed it pops out 9234987294 new leaves this spring :P

[@moniquebreau71]

Do you use hard water to water your plants??