Keep Houseplants Dust-Free When Selling Your Calgary Home

When staging your Calgary home to sell, don’t get rid of your houseplants. They add colour, interest and sometimes even drama to your home décor not to mention that they keep the air clean.  However, don’t put dusty plants on parade.  It’s not good for the health of your plants but it also makes potential buyers think either your home might be in a dusty location or that it hasn’t been well-taken care of.

You might want to take your plants to the shower.

Good Plant Health

This time of year in Calgary, the sun is still so low in the sky that lower levels of light are already causing your plants some stress.  Anything that gets in the way of your plants enjoying what little sunlight there is, such as dust, will slow down the plants.  You’ll know this if you see the tips of your plant’s leaves beginning to turn brown or if an entire leaf turns yellow.  The plant is probably getting rid of leaves that are maybe on their last legs and aren’t bringing in nutrients.  If your houseplants aren’t washed, which are actually supposed to be outdoors in their native habitat where rain would do that job, then you should probably give them a hand.

Artificial rain in the shower will ensure that your tropical plants will also shed spider mites or even aphids which are often difficult to see with the naked eye, in addition to the dust or even grease that has settled on the leaves.  Don’t be afraid to use a little bit of dish soap as well, just because of that possible grease factor.  Going into the shower is not really a good idea for very small plants or those that have very few leaves.  A soft cloth and water and a gentle hand may be all your plants require. If you have a plant with fuzzy leaves, such as African violets, they can be brushed with a very soft brush rather that wiped with a cloth. Just make sure that you support each leave by placing your hand underneath while you wash or brush each leave.

Those types of plants that will try benefit from a gentle shower would be palms, figs, hoya, philodendrons and clivia types of houseplants.  If you’re not sure if you should wipe or put the in the shower, think of how much time might be required to wipe leaves one by once.  Let that be your guide.  If you’re afraid that the pot will absorb too much water, making it difficult to haul out of the shower or if you’re concerned about soil washing away and clogging your drain, wrap the pot in a plastic bag.  Think of it as a shower cap for your plant.  Use a hand-held shower to get at the nasty bugs on the underside of the leaves.

Like a Tropical Rain

Don’t use hot water on your plants as you would for your own personal shower.  To that end, don’t shower with your plants at all.  You don’t want cold water either as it will be quite a shock.  Houseplants are tropical so think warm rain like they might enjoy if they were at home in Brazil.

Let the pots sit in the shower afterward to dry.

Once the leaves are cleaned they’ll be shiny and more presentable to the world, not to mention that fact that they’ll once again be able to absorb optimum sunlight.  They will be a wonderful addition to your carefully staged Calgary home for sale.

Careful with Figs

A word of caution if you are cleaning a weeping fig.  This is a beautiful, showy plant.  One that will stand out when buyers come through your home.  However, this type of plant is very sensitive and may start throwing leaves in rebellion if you don’t return it to exactly the right place where it was in your home.  The same spot, the same orientation to the window. Take a photo or use tape on the floor to mark the spot where it was.