Spring is the season for deep cleaning. Everything from flowerpots to wheel rims needs to be cleaned.

 

Spring cleaning: hard work that pays off

 

Reuse is our absolute favorite word, and of course that applies to pots and saucers too.

Before reusing your pots, however, be sure to wash them out carefully to prevent unpleasant things such as fungus, bacteria, or other pests from spreading and taking hold in this year’s healthy young plants. (Unless you washed them last autumn.)
Wash all pots. Terracotta and plastic pots alike all need to be clean for a successful planting season.

 

 

Small, thin plastic pots can also be recycled if you are a little careful when washing them. If they are broken, they should be sorted as hard plastic.

What about the patina? The patina on a used terracotta pot IS very beautiful, but if you use soft soap, you will notice that the pot becomes clean while much of the patina you have worked to create will reappear fairly quickly. So there’s no need to worry!
You can find cleaning tools here!

 

Here’s how:

A dish brush for flowerpots is very practical to have. With a coarse brush like this, you can easily remove dried-on soil. You will find that the brush’s shape, which matches the flowerpot, is very practical, although an ordinary dish brush works fine too. So … get rid of the soil stuck in your pots.

If you have had problems with particularly troublesome pests, you can freeze your pots to reduce the risk of them spreading. You should of course also talk to your garden center, as they know how to handle and resolve these kinds of problems. Pots placed outdoors to freeze must be completely dry; otherwise, they may crack.

Plastic and porcelain pots can be washed straight away. Terracotta pots benefit from being soaked for a while beforehand.

Wash the pots with soft soap. If you prefer solid soft soap, simply put a dab directly on the brush. If you choose liquid soft soap, you can pour it directly into the pot and scrub it out with warm water.
Those who like to keep things orderly may now be wondering whether dish soap works just as well?! And sure, the pots will get clean with dish soap too, but it is not quite as easy. In fact, algae, fungus, and similar nuisances really hate soft soap. It is easier to get rid of them with a good dose of soft soap. Outdoor windowsills and garden furniture affected by algae can also be treated with soft soap.

 

 

We wash the outside with an eco-fiber sponge and soap.

 

 

Let them dry, and then you can start planting.

 

Never flush leftover soil down the drain—it can easily cause a blockage! The sink and dish brushes must be cleaned thoroughly with soap after washing soil out of pots.

 

Geraniums and cuttings are part of spring. Taking cuttings from geraniums isn’t difficult. They are resilient plants that tolerate both a little rough treatment and the occasional watering mistake.

 

Prune your scraggly, overwintered geraniums and take cuttings at the same time (cut off small branches that stick out and look healthy). If you have time, place the cuttings in a glass of water; roots will soon form. Otherwise, you can also put them directly into the soil, but then it’s especially important to remember to water them. The new plant must not dry out at first.

 

This way, you’ll get lots of new plants. You can also buy cuttings from a florist or garden center.

 

 

If you get cuttings from a friend, be a little careful. Keep the cuttings separate for a week or so to make sure they aren’t carrying any disease or pests that could spread to your plants.

 

Place a plastic bag over the pot with the new little plant to create a small greenhouse and help it grow quickly.

Tire-changing season means dirty fingers

 

Switching to winter tires is much more enjoyable if you take the time to scrub the tires and wheels, and it’s much nicer to handle them when they’re clean. They also look so much better!
A wheel brush is a great investment right now … it will last “forever” and helps you clean your wheels in the blink of an eye. It reaches everywhere and doesn’t scratch!

Would you like more car-cleaning tips? There’s a blog about it here!

Products used in the blog above can all be ordered at www.vasterbottenssap.se