No doubt that every house can significantly benefit from having a houseplant or two. The addition of houseplants elevates your home’s interior and provides you with natural air purification.
In addition, houseplants complement the overall look of your house, as well. However, houseplants and gardens require a lot of attention and demand regular maintenance. One of the things that your houseplant can easily fall victim to is mold, and it can quickly destroy your houseplants.
How, if it so happens that you spot it developing on your plants, don’t just throw away the whole plant. Eliminating mold from houseplants is relatively easy to do. The salvageability of your plant depends on the extent to which it has been contaminated. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the plant cannot always be saved.
It can be a tricky process, but you can do it with the proper steps and the correct technique, too. So, if you are looking for the best method to do so, keep reading this article to find out just how you can eliminate mold from houseplants easily and effectively.
How You Can Remove Mold from Houseplants
If plants are affected by mold, you need to get rid of it, and the sooner, the better. There are a couple of actions you need to take to eliminate them once and for all. Let’s find out about those steps below.
Sparge a tissue paper and wipe down your plant with it. Although this may seem like an easy thing to do, you need to be careful with it.
Ensure that you are not using the dry paper towel in this case; the dry paper will do nothing but disrupt the plant’s pores and might spread the spores in the air. A wet/damp paper towel, on the other hand, will adhere to the already moist spores and will make the process easier.
Remember to clean your wet/damp paper towel after every wipe, as an uncleansed paper towel will spread the contamination even further to the areas which haven’t been affected yet. This happens as the particles from the affected plant accumulate into the paper towel as you go on with the cleaning process.
Secondly, remember to clean your plants in a well-ventilated area, as it speeds up the cleaning process. You can use a spray bottle, too, if you feel the need to do so.
The removal process of any contaminants depends upon how severely it has affected your houseplant. If you cannot eliminate mold from houseplants from the above method, you can apply the techniques mentioned below.
Mold at the top of the soil
To remove the mold confined at the top layer of soil, the first thing you need to do is to scoop it out with the help of a spade or a spoon or anything else that suits you. Remember to keep the removed moist away from other plants and put it in a plastic bag so you can quickly and safely dispose of it.
If you notice that it has been confined to the upper layer of the soil, remove all the visible traces as explained in the previous step. Once you are done removing all visible traces, simply remove the upper layer and then replace the upper layer of soil with a sterile and fresh layer of new soil.
Extensive Mold
If you happen to notice extensive mold on your houseplant, you might need to re-pot the plant. However, this should be done only when you see that it has spread into the soil or it has infested itself into the pot itself.
In this situation, it is best to re-pot your plant as no cleaning and to remove it would do the job for you.
When you are repotting the plant, make sure that you are doing it in a well-ventilated area so the affected spores might not attach themselves to the plant again. Also, remember to use a plastic bag to dispose of the affected soil with safety and ease.
During the process, remove every bit of the contaminated soil and replace the ground with fresh and sterile soil. When you remove the affected soil, make sure to see if it is not still attached to some areas on the pot, it might affect the new ground, as well.
In addition, check the root ball of the plant and also remove any contaminated soil sitting there.
After successfully eliminating the mold-affected soil from your plant, make sure to give it some air to breathe in. After replacing, your soil is good as new, but it needs time to air out. As the moisture from the damp paper towel may still be there, give your houseplant some time so that it may dry.
Would you please make certain that you water the soil again after it has been dried completely and then returned to its soil home?
How to protect houseplants from getting affected again
As you have seen, it is an easy but hectic process to remove mold from houseplants. One of the things that you can do to prevent your soil from getting affected again is to pour some natural anti-fungal treatment products into the ground.
Some of the natural antifungal treatments might be toxic for your plants, so choose wisely. For example, you can add a sprinkle of cinnamon as it is a natural anti-fungal product and safe for your plants. A few other natural anti-fungal treatments include baking soda and as well as apple cider vinegar. Use any of these as long as it serves the purpose.