Phalaenopsis not thriving, losing leaves slowly. Beginner orchid grower. PLEASE HELP

[Besthomeguy]

Phalaenopsis is not thriving, losing leaves slowly. Beginner orchid grower, yet advanced general plant grower.

Hello.
Thank you so much in advance for all your help as I know I have come to the right place.

I know good Karma will undoubtedly come your way for any help you can offer me.

My 5 Phalaenopsis are not thriving & losing leaves slowly as weeks/months go by.

They are the store bought types.

I recently transplanted them from small clear, approximately 4 inch (or so) original pots into larger medium sized clear pots with slits on the side designed for orchids specifically.

At this time I transplanted them into an orchid mix that I bought on Amazon which contains bark and Moss.

Before this transplant I was having problems slowly beginning already with leaves dying and this is the primary reason why I decided to do a transplant because I myself was overwatering and there was a significant amount of dead material within the pot and root ball area that was creating rot.

During this transplanting I stripped the root area of all rotten material and significantly rinsed them off etc.

I have never added or given nutrients to the plants or soil. They are kept outside on my balcony rich kids very little direct sunlight if any. These orchids never get direct sunlight of course and temperatures have been very mild here where I live in Los Angeles typically between 70 and 80 degrees the past few months.

I've done some Research into orchids and I'm aware of common problems and how they typically grow in nature.

I am aware that they typically grow in an aerated growing medium such as on the side of a tree, with higher levels of humidity and no direct light.

I am aware that the most common reason people kill them is related to over watering and root rot.

Since I purchased them a year ago or more they have very slowly declined and I'm not completely sure why.

Keep them outside away from direct light. They're not in a humid area whatsoever as I live in the Los Angeles area.

Of course I would not keep them outside on a blazingly hot day.

I also for the most part make sure to keep them in what I find to be a comfortable environment temperature wise for my own body.

I don't keep them right next to any fan, cooling or heating element.

Like most people I do warm up my apartment with a heater or cool it down from time to time during the Southern California springtime but it's nothing too significant that I would think would affect the orchids whole lot but then again I don't know a lot about these particular orchids.

The water I use has always been straight cold tap water.

I have learned from research that it is okay to let the Orchids dry out significantly from time to time and I water using this in mind.

Of course I'm not an expert though as you folks clearly are.

In the more recent days I have been trying to give them more light by putting them closer to where the direct sunlight is hitting while still not introducing direct sunlight to the orchids.

Also in the more recent days I have been trying to occasionally put a lid over the plastic container that they are in with some residual water lying at the bottom in an attempt to raise the humidity level during this Southern California spring time.

Looks like I have covered all of the details that are possible at this point.

If you click on my profile account link you should be able to access additional details about my plants.

Please feel free to ask me questions, direct me to any tutorials that I have missed or scold me for my ignorance.

I know lots of good karma will undoubtedly come your way for reading all of my gibberish up to this point & for taking your unpaid time to help a fellow Orchid lover and newbie figure some of the stuff out.

I have absolutely fallen madly in love with these orchids. I am borderline obsessed with my plants in general and I truly am desperate, willing to do almost anything to become more of a perfectionist with these plants as I have done with other plants my life.