# how to clean bromeliad's?



## diablomantis (Jan 29, 2016)

Hello everyone.
I keep my bromeliads outside in the summer, and the gardeners sprayed some weed killer a few weeks ago. They didn't spray the bromeliads directly, but could have gotten residue on them. 
My question is since this was almost a month ago now are the bromeliads safe to put with dart frogs, Phelsuma's, etc? or is there a way to clean them to make them safe again? 

Thanks,
Vladimir.


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## nyskiffie (Mar 6, 2016)

Do you know what kind of weed killer they used?


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## diablomantis (Jan 29, 2016)

nyskiffie said:


> Do you know what kind of weed killer they used?


Nope, I'm not sure.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

If they used a systemic spray, it's been recommended to wait 6 months. A systemic spray is not _on_ the plants, it's _in_ the plants.


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## diablomantis (Jan 29, 2016)

I hope its not systemic, next time they come ill have to ask.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If it was a weed killer as opposed to another pesticide then you probably would see plant damage (even though the bromeliads are waxy enough that it might have protected them). As a result a really good wash down/flushing of the plants should clear off the residues. 

some comments 

Ed


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## diablomantis (Jan 29, 2016)

Cool, thanks. 
I know it was a weed killer, not a pesticide. I'm just not sure what kind of weed killer it was. I know there is some kind of cleaning solution with a touch of bleach you can make to clean plants, would that be fine or is there something else I should do?

Thanks again,
Vladimir.

P.S. 
I noticed on some of the larger broms that grass spiders have taken over, would it be safe to let those broms sit in water for a day to make sure the spiders get out?


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## nyskiffie (Mar 6, 2016)

If it's roundup and they've been outside since then they're totally safe. It breaks down under UV light really quickly... I think it has a short halflife even without UV.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

diablomantis said:


> Cool, thanks.
> I know it was a weed killer, not a pesticide. I'm just not sure what kind of weed killer it was. I know there is some kind of cleaning solution with a touch of bleach you can make to clean plants, would that be fine or is there something else I should do?
> 
> Thanks again,
> ...


Many of us, myself included, clean our plants very thoroughly to prevent unwanted pests. I remove the dirt plug from the pot, and gently, but thoroughly, clean all of the old substrate out from the roots. Many pests will lay their eggs in the dirt, so we start by eliminating it. I would rather do a little damage to some roots, than to allow old potting soil into my new viv. Do this in a bucket of water, or better yet, if you have a garbage disposal, and can get your wife out of the house for a while, use the kitchen sink! Water, continuously running at room temperature, will make this sooo much easier!
After all dirt is out, soak plants or cuttings in room temperature water for 10 minutes. This step is crucial. I've heard back reports of dead plants if you skip it. We are about to put our plants in bleach, and we want our plants FULLY hydrated before we do. We do NOT want our plants forced to drink the bleach, while soaking in it.
We have a tub of water prepped roughly the same temp as the bath they were just in. I use a 10% bleach solution. One cup of normal, household, laundry bleach. Unscented, plain jane, cheap as it comes, bleach. A 10% solution would be 9 cups of water, to one cup of bleach. Adding in a couple drops of dishwashing soap, like Dawn, will act as a surficant, allowing the mixture to penetrate deeper into overlapping leaves, axils, etc. A few drops of rubbing alcohol is sometimes recommended.
Give your plants a 10 minute soak in this mixture, gently pushing floaters back down in from time to time. Use a timer. If the phone rings, and you get distracted, that's a sink full of dead plants. We want a 10 minute soak, then immediately plunge them into the sink basin full of room temp, fresh, clean water to rinse them of the majority of the bleach FAST. Then rinse them one at a time, very thoroughly.
Mosses, riccardias, and liverworts will not survive bleach treatments.


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## mikemakesapps (Mar 11, 2019)

Pumilo said:


> I use a 10% bleach solution. One cup of normal, household, laundry bleach. Unscented, plain jane, cheap as it comes, bleach. A 10% solution would be 9 cups of water, to one cup of bleach. Adding in a couple drops of dishwashing soap, like Dawn, will act as a surficant, allowing the mixture to penetrate deeper into overlapping leaves, axils, etc.


Sorry to resurrect an old-ish thread, but I wanted to address something: is it not a good idea to add diswashing soap to your bleach mixture? I'm wondering about a ammonia / bleach toxic fume scenario here


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

mikemakesapps said:


> Sorry to resurrect an old-ish thread, but I wanted to address something: is it not a good idea to add diswashing soap to your bleach mixture? I'm wondering about a ammonia / bleach toxic fume scenario here


I doubt there is the potential to liberate chlorine gas with soap. Splashless bleach contains surfactants, and many people mix bleach and many kinds of detergents in clothing washing machines.

Of course, any product with ammonia shouldn't be added to bleach, and probably shouldn't be used to clean plants.


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## mark c (Jun 17, 2010)

Sort of off the subject, but you mention splashless, or splash-less, bleach. I had bought some splash-less bleach last year, and probably used it to clean some plants or other frog related items. 

A few months later, my wife pointed out that the splash-less bleach bottle actually says that it does not disinfect. It is really only good, then, for doing laundry. By coincidence, a news commentary on the radio, just today, made this same point, in relation to disinfecting for the Covid-19 virus.

The regular-splash-amount (splashmore?) bleach actually says on the label that it is good for disinfecting, and kills germs. I always soak all plants in bleach, dish soap and water. After a water rinse, they get a quick soak in white vinegar and water solution.

For new bromeliads, also I fill a spray bottle with 100% pure isopropyl alcohol and soak every nook and cranny with the stuff. This kills any potential scale.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

mark c said:


> A few months later, my wife pointed out that the splash-less bleach bottle actually says that it does not disinfect. It is really only good, then, for doing laundry. By coincidence, a news commentary on the radio, just today, made this same point, in relation to disinfecting for the Covid-19 virus.


Sorry, I did not mean to imply that we should use splashless bleach for cleaning plants. It was just an example of a product that contains both bleach and a surfactant to explain that mixing the two is safe. 

The label on Clorox Splashless Bleach (CSB) reads, "Not for sanitization or disinfection. To sanitize and disinfect, use Clorox Disinfecting Bleach." It says that CSB is not intended for disinfection; it does not say that CSB will not in fact disinfect. CSB will kill microorganisms, but there are two reasons why you should not use it to do so in the course of general disinfection.

One, bleach used for disinfection -- as of a final rinse of food contact surfaces, or added to drinking water -- cannot contain any compounds that will leave a residue, or which are not safe to ingest. CSB contains such compounds.

Two, CSB does not list the percentage of chlorine it contains, so it is not possible to mix a solution with the proper amount of chlorine to achieve disinfection.

We probably could use CSB to clean plants, but we do a final rinse of water (I actually do a rinse of dechlorinator, then a final rinse of water). I don't know the ratio of CSB to water to use -- since the amount of chlorine in CSB is not listed, but having used it for laundry I believe it is less than 5% -- so I don't use CSB to clean plants.


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