Phalaenopsis how do you clean your leaves

[Alys]

How do you wash your Phal. leaves and keep them shiny? I've been using a fluffy paint brush dampened with water. It gets the dust off but when I see pics of other growers orchids, they have shinny leaves.

[estación seca]

Some species and hybrids have shinier leaves than others. A lot of the large, round-flowered hybrids have leaves that aren't all that shiny. The star-flowered ones with Phal. violacea and bellina in their ancestry typically have very shiny leaves, but they become duller when cool stressed or underwatered.

Some people in our orchid society polish their Phal leaves before shows with a little olive oil. Stuff on YouTube and Pinterest is often heavily altered for videography so it looks better than normal.

[Ray]

Dull leaves can come from several sources.

That can be dirt and dust, as you noted, from fertilizer or water residues if the plants are improperly watered or misted, or just from irrigation with hard water.

Anything can remove dust or dirt. Diluted lemon juice can remove mineral residues, but if it's a physiological response to hard water, it cannot be corrected. Wiping the leaves with a paper towel dipped in milk or mayonnaise can shine them up.

[DeaC]

If it's mineral residue,lemon juice works well(as Ray said).

[DirtyCoconuts]

For my indoor plants that get dusty I’ll occasionally wipe them with a moist paper towel

[DrDawn]

I think I read somewhere that if you're prepping your orchid for a flower show that you should wipe down the leaves with rubbing alcohol. Not sure, I've never done it.

I did have a phase where I used some Neem oil to polish up my Phal leaves, but it made them more prone to getting sunburned in my environment. Plus, the oil is really smelly. So I'd rather have less shiny leaves and less smell. :-P For dealing with dust, I give them a quick wipe-down with a cotton cloth dampened in water, maybe twice a year?

[Mr.Fakename]

Phal leaves also get duller with age, there's not much you can do.

I use lemon juice, works like a charm.

When I got my Angraecum, the mineral buildup was so thick that I had to resolve to cover the roots and spray 5% white vinegar; didn't see any side effect.

[Fuerte Rav]

About 18 mths - 2 years ago I was having a problem with minute pests in my phals and someone on here suggested I try spaying them with Neem Oil and Horticultural Soap. (Where I live it is very difficult to get much in the way of effective branded pesticides.) I got these through Amazon and they worked wonders for me. The bonus was lovely clean, shiny leaves! As a preventative I spray them once a month, both sides of every leaf and every nook and cranny! I then tip the pot sideways to remove as much liquid as possible from the crown and leaf joints before standing in warmth, shade and a light breeze for an hour before returning to their normal places indoors. I do the spraying outdoors because of the smell (which I quite like!) and the mess. I also check each crown as I replace the plant and use a folded piece of tissue if needs be to remove any last trace of moisture. Best to start the procedure in the morning so all foliage can dry out well before temps drop in the evening.
Works for me in my environment!

Not cheap but a little goes a long way!

Edit: don't spray Neem anywhere near Milkweed/Monarch caterpillars, butterflies!

[Orchidtinkerer]

I might be off but personally whenever I see a "shiny" leaf to me it is always a really well grown leaf.
You see leaves with yellow, black, brown spots on them, no matter how much you polish those leaves, they will never shine. Why? Because they are stressed in some way either by pests of fungus or whatever.
So like said I might be off but to me a shiny leaf is not one that has been washed, my best leaf pictures are leaves that never touched any water. The healthier my leaves, the shinier they show in pictures. That is how I see things.

It has also been mentioned that leaves deteriorate as they age - lose their young shiny look and get a more aged, leathery look

[Alys]

Thank you for your input. I will say that the leaves on my plants are not shiny, except for the new ones, they're very dark green, stiff and collect dust. I guess I should just be happy that they are green and about to bloom.