how does everyone wash their pots for the next grow?

Total Head

Total Head

Well-Known Member
i have always used a mild dish soap solution and rinsed till the pots squeak, but no matter how well i wash i can always smell a hint of the soap afterward. due to contamination issues (not with dish soap) with my last grow i am wanting to be a bit more cautious this time around. they are plain ol' plastic pots. anyone have any suggestions of something else i should use or should i just get over it? i am not going to spend big bucks on this just don't want to poison my ladies again.
 
phyzix

phyzix

Well-Known Member
Do you have access to an autoclave? I use one and recommended it highly.

Alternatively, 30+ minutes in a bleach water mix (10 parts water to 1 part bleach) will take care of almost everything.

Peace.
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
You can always add a cap full of bleach to the rinse water and then let the posts air dry. The same sanitation method is used for dishes in a restaurant if they run out of sanit tabs.
 
Spanishfly

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
pots.jpg

Just give them a swill out with water. Using the black tub this year.

Someone is sure to come along and say tsk tsk you should use bleach, but never had a problem with anything yet.
 
phyzix

phyzix

Well-Known Member
By the way...you can sanitize your glass work in the same way if you're a communal smoker/germaphobe.
 
SIR SMOKER

SIR SMOKER

New Member
Total Head said:
i have always used a mild dish soap solution and rinsed till the pots squeak, but no matter how well i wash i can always smell a hint of the soap afterward. due to contamination issues (not with dish soap) with my last grow i am wanting to be a bit more cautious this time around. they are plain ol' plastic pots. anyone have any suggestions of something else i should use or should i just get over it? i am not going to spend big bucks on this just don't want to poison my ladies again.
Click to expand...
What happened to you last grow ??????.
And dish soap and water is perfect if you are really worried about it. Then rinse with some hot water.
 
Total Head

Total Head

Well-Known Member
would the bleach leave any type of residue that could contaminate the soil? plastic pots are shitty that way. they soak shit in. i don't want funny stuff leaching into the soil. it does seem that a light bleach solution should work. probably less chlorine than the tap water in this shithole.
 
machnak

machnak

Well-Known Member
phyzix said:
Do you have access to an autoclave? I use one and recommended it highly.

Alternatively, 30+ minutes in a bleach water mix (10 parts water to 1 part bleach) will take care of almost everything.

Peace.
Click to expand...

I use Bleach...and also use an autoclave daily at work but I can't use it for pots. Also, it would warp most of the posts we use due to high heat. I wish it was big enough for a 3 or 5 gal bucket...the autoclave would have to be huge!
 
Total Head

Total Head

Well-Known Member
SIR SMOKER said:
What happened to you last grow ??????.
And dish soap and water is perfect if you are really worried about it. Then rinse with some hot water.
Click to expand...
the contamination on my last grow actually came from the jug that held the water. i used a lemonade bottle that i thought i washed out soooo good, and then stored water in it for almost 2 days with the cover off to evaporate the chlorine so i wouldn't hurt the plants (ironic isn't it?). besides ruining the ph of the soil my perlite turned all sorts of colors, the dirt had a funny smell and the plants almost died. something appeared to be starting to grow on top of the soil and it was very crusty even when damp. the plants recovered when transplanted. these are only small starter pots but i don't want to start these out on a bad foot. i'll just dilute down the (already weak) bleach solution i used to clean the grow room and see how that goes.
 
SIR SMOKER

SIR SMOKER

New Member
On a serious note. Dish wahing soap and warm water is perfect. Then rinse with hot water and dry.
Personally i just rinse mine with warm water and dry them with a dish towel.
 
SIR SMOKER

SIR SMOKER

New Member
Total Head said:
the contamination on my last grow actually came from the jug that held the water. i used a lemonade bottle that i thought i washed out soooo good, and then stored water in it for almost 2 days with the cover off to evaporate the chlorine so i wouldn't hurt the plants (ironic isn't it?). besides ruining the ph of the soil my perlite turned all sorts of colors, the dirt had a funny smell and the plants almost died. something appeared to be starting to grow on top of the soil and it was very crusty even when damp. the plants recovered when transplanted. these are only small starter pots but i don't want to start these out on a bad foot. i'll just dilute down the (already weak) bleach solution i used to clean the grow room and see how that goes.
Click to expand...
Just buy a bottle of mineral/spring water they have a ph of 7.0 usually and use that as your watering jug to keep reusing to fill your water sprayer. I will get a couple of pics up shortly.
 
phyzix

phyzix

Well-Known Member
Total Head said:
would the bleach leave any type of residue that could contaminate the soil? plastic pots are shitty that way. they soak shit in. i don't want funny stuff leaching into the soil. it does seem that a light bleach solution should work. probably less chlorine than the tap water in this shithole.
Click to expand...
See the date on this container? That's the first year I got it from a nursery. Been using it every year since then, just running it through bleach water after every use.

No adverse effects yet. The yellow leaves are because I forgot to feed her before I went on vacation.

 
SIR SMOKER

SIR SMOKER

New Member
SIR SMOKER said:
Just buy a bottle of mineral/spring water they have a ph of 7.0 usually and use that as your watering jug to keep reusing to fill your water sprayer. I will get a couple of pics up shortly.
Click to expand...
This is the water i use. Its very cheap and has a PH of 7.0. four 2 litre bottles costs around £5.00 and therefore eliminates testing any other water you might want to use.

This is the spray bottle i have and i just fill it with water straight from the bottles of spring water.

(good luck)
(dont stress to much).
 

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skiweeds

skiweeds

Active Member
i just take it in the shower and use hot water. my water is extremely hot compared to a normal persons though. you could boil some water and pour it all over. otherwise try basic cleaners like dish soap, bleach, rubbing alcohol. i use grow bags instead of grow pots. kinda nice you can sorta form what size you want them as far as height.
 
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