How do you clean pots?

[beckington]

I have a bunch of pots and containers I've used for gardening the last few years but have never cleaned out - I'm lazy! I thought I should clean them this year but everything I read about cleaning them out properly says to use bleach. Is that really necessary? I don't want to use bleach. How about vinegar and water? (That's what I clean everything else with, lol.) I don't think any of my previous plants have had any nasty diseases or anything, but I haven't taken very good care of the pots so I'd like to 'start fresh' this year. So, how do you clean your pots?

[Indigo73]

My pots are the only thing I really use bleach on. Maybe vinegar & peroxide would work?

[lunarlady]

Vinegar is acidic, which will affect the soil. Bleach actually dries out to a pH neutral compound, so that is why it is used. If you don't want to bleach them, and you haven't had any diseases, I wouldn't worry about it. I've used the same pots for 10+ years and never washed them. My idea of "cleaning" a pot is to dump out all the old, root filled, nutrient poor soil, rinse with the hose (scrubbing with a brush any stains, but no soap), let dry, and fill with fresh soil. Works well for me. You can also heat sterilize them if you want by putting htem in a sealed plastic bag in the sunlight for a week or so. That will kill any diseases/fungus/mold that is lurking. But it takes longer, so many people want the instant gratification and surity of bleach.

[Erinz]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

Vinegar is acidic, which will affect the soil. Bleach actually dries out to a pH neutral compound, so that is why it is used. If you don't want to bleach them, and you haven't had any diseases, I wouldn't worry about it. I've used the same pots for 10+ years and never washed them. My idea of "cleaning" a pot is to dump out all the old, root filled, nutrient poor soil, rinse with the hose (scrubbing with a brush any stains, but no soap), let dry, and fill with fresh soil. Works well for me. You can also heat sterilize them if you want by putting htem in a sealed plastic bag in the sunlight for a week or so. That will kill any diseases/fungus/mold that is lurking. But it takes longer, so many people want the instant gratification and surity of bleach.

totally that! I wouldn't use bleach but that is a matter of preference. You can also clean them as described above and then put them in a 200* oven for an hour or two. I've never bothered, but if I had any issues I'd be all over it!