House cleaning? Don't forget your plants

Your lowly houseplants do more than just decorate your home. They play an important role in keeping indoor air clean. Many houseplants and flowering plants help fight indoor pollution by absorbing bad gases through photosynthesis. The least you could do the next time you clean your house is to not forget your plants.

Your plants, even if they are indoors, do need some cleaning from time to time. The advantage of the plants outdoors is that they get cleaned every time it rains. Meanwhile, the good thing about houseplants is that you don't need to clean them often. When you notice dust accumulating on the leaves then that would be a sign that your plants need some cleaning. Depending on your location, you might just need to do this three or four times a year.

If you use a piece of soft cloth or a duster, you probably will get the dust off the leaves of your plants. This is not really the best way to clean them. You might end up damaging the leaves as well. A better way would be to bring your plant outside and douse it with water. Take advantage the next time it rains. Bring your plants outside and let the rain clean them for you.

When showering your plants, kindly use the most gently spray you can get from your garden hose. Spray the plant up and down, back and forth and until you get the whole plant washed.

Although, showering your plants would be the general way of cleaning them, there are plants like African violets, cyclamens, and cacti, of course. So you should also be aware of your plants needs. Watering these kinds of plants can cause spots and other discolorations to appear.

Cleaning these kinds of plants would have to require the old fashion rag or feather duster bid. You can use a shaving brush since it is softer than a rag and most brushes out there.

I would suggest avoiding commercially available leaf cleaning products. There's a great chance that these products will clog the pores of your plants leaves. It would be better to use a solution with a few drops of light liquid non-detergent soap to removes some heavy dirt or stains.

Washing your indoor plants is part of a good clean house. The next time you're thinking of house cleaning, take a closer look at your plants, they might need a bath. Remember to not forget your plants, they are part of your household after all.