Can You Use Windex On Plants?

Windex and similar products are sometimes brought up when one’s discussing ways to kill plant bugs. There is a mix of information available online, unfortunately, with some sources saying that it’s okay to use Windex on plants and others saying it is not recommended. In this article, we examine why Windex should or shouldn’t be used on plants.

Two Reasons You’d Use Windex On Plants

• Your plant is infested with bugs or a disease that you believe could be remedied with Windex.

• Your plant is in need of a thorough clean, such as with an artificial plant, and you were recommended Windex to be used.

Here’s Why You Should Not Use Windex On Plants

Windex is not recommended for use on real plants or faux plants. It is best to avoid it. Why is because Windex has additives in it. Those chemical additives are dangerous to plants. Windex and similar cleaning products should be entirely avoided for that reason.

How to Clean A Plant

How to clean a plant, if you are just in it to clean it, is to use something like a microfiber cloth. Guided by your hand, you can apply or back off on the pressure when you need to. It’s the optimum way to clean a fake plant, although it will also work on real plants. You don’t have to worry about chemicals or damage to the plant. It’s all within your power to control it.

There are also purer products, such as rubbing alcohol and liquid dish soap. These can kill your common garden pests, i.e. spider mites. Usually, it will be liquid dish soap and water that’s the recommended route to take. Any sort of alcohol-based product can have a drying effect and should be used with extreme, extreme caution.

How To Kill Pests On A Plant

How to kill pests on plants is fairly simple. Put your liquid dish soap and water in a bottle. Shake it. Spray it and wet the plant. Reapply every 5 days until the mites or other pests are no longer present. If you are using rubbing alcohol, use cotton balls to apply them to the leaves. Though alcohol-based products will work due to its drying effect, this same mechanism is a threat to greenery as well.

Now Windex does make some products that they claim are safe for plants, such as Windex Outdoor Sprayer. While that’s fine, it’s not an optimum way to clean or protect plants. Safe alternatives exist.

Why Fake Plants Are Better Than Real Plants

Let’s apply this same situation to artificial greenery, fake flowers, and faux plants.

Fake plants aren’t going to attract pests because they aren’t living. There’s nothing there for pests to want.

After eliminating that issue, the only other reason why you might think about using Windex on plants is to clean them. Like we mentioned earlier, use a microfiber cloth instead. It’s a lot easier.

With a microfiber cloth wrapped around your hand and fingers, go over every leaf. This will effectively remove any and all dust and debris hanging onto your plant. There’s no Windex involved.