Plant leaves have an outer waxy transparent coating called “cuticle” that helps in retaining water and do protect from fungus and other pathogens. So, cuticles are important for a plant. There is also stomata in leaves that exchange gases and water.
With time leaves of indoor plants get covered with dust particles. If we do not clean the leaves dust may close the pores of the stomata. And in general, it looks awful to see indoor plant leaves in the dust. To clean these dust particles on plant leaves never use alcohol and alcohol-containing cleaners. Alcohol is corrosive and this may damage the outer waxy coating of the leaves and probably damage stomata too.
Cleaning plant leaves with rubbing alcohol
I have seen some bloggers suggesting readers clean indoor plant leaves by rubbing alcohol. This is not good, especially if young leaves. As I have said above alcohol is corrosive and will damage the plant surface. Alcohol and alcohol-containing cleaners can definitely clean the plant leave well. But, this doesn’t mean we will compromise the side effects of using alcohol for cleaning plant leaves.
I also suggest not to use any oily cleaners to get shinny leaves. Oil can block the pores of stomata and hamper the natural gaseous exchange and transpiration process.
To clean indoor plant leaves you can use a dry cloth to simply rub the surface of the leaves. This works great for snake plants. Do not apply too much pressure as it may break the delicate leaves of the plants. If too much dust on leaves, use a simple water spray to clean off the dust particles. Vinegar can be used if diluted one teaspoon of vinegar with about a gallon of water. It is risky to use vinegar too frequently.
Does rubbing alcohol kill fungus on plants?
Yes, rubbing alcohol on plants can kill fungus as well the plant leaves. So, it is not recommended to use alcohol to kill fungus on plants. You can use ash powder, neem-based fungicide, or any naturally available fungicide.
Final Takeaway
The final takeaway for you from this post is not to use alcohol or alcohol-based cleaners to clean indoor plant leaves. Instead, use simple dry or wet cloth or water spray.
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