Not Vinegar Or Bleach: The Alternative You Already Have That Sanitizes Planter Pots

You probably know that you should be cleaning your flower pots. You're likely aware that plant pathogens can linger in your planters and pots, along with fungi and bacteria, and infect the next plant placed in the pot. You can easily clean them in soapy water, but what's the best way to truly sanitize them? Vinegar is especially effective on the crusty salt on porous pots like terracotta, but is not a disinfectant and doesn't kill all pathogens that would be found in a planting pot. A 10% solution of bleach and water is typically recommended for sanitizing pots, but given the strong odor and fumes that bleach gives off, you may prefer an alternative, especially if you just need to sanitize a few pots. An effective alternative is 70% isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol.

Because rubbing alcohol shouldn't be watered down when used on pots and planters, it's not economically practical for use on large quantities of containers compared to the small amount of bleach that is diluted in water for pot cleaning. But when you don't want to drag out the harsh bleach or use it on fragile pots, alcohol does the trick and takes less of a toll on the pot's surface. 

Alcohol may also be a better choice for health reasons since bleach can trigger asthma attacks and cause skin and eye irritation. Fast evaporation helps make the case for alcohol, while bleach solution needs to be rinsed off.

To sanitize your pots and planters in alcohol, first brush off loose particles and wash pots out with sudsy water. Once it has been rinsed and dried, soak a cloth in the alcohol and thoroughly wipe down the entire pot. Other options include pouring a little alcohol into the planter and swishing it around, if the container is small, or spraying the container with alcohol; spray on enough alcohol that it starts to drip and then let it evaporate. Failing to clean your pots is a gardening mistake you don't want to make at the end of growing season. If you didn't clean them at that time, be sure to do it as you prep last year's planters for a new season of gardening.

Whatever choice you make between bleach and alcohol sanitizers, be sure you don't mix pot and planter cleaning products, as the resulting chemical reactions can be dangerous. For example, the toxic substance chloroform results from mixing alcohol and bleach, while combining bleach and vinegar creates deadly chlorine gas. Also remember that alcohol is flammable, so don't use it around an ignition source.