Sterilizing a clay pot

[Orchid Whisperer]

I used to do the conventional oven treatment (slowly raising temperature, steps of 50 F, to 300 F then off after half hour until cool).

Now I do a long bleach water soak, soak in clean water, then the dishwasher treatment like DollyTH suggested.

[katrina]

I do a bleach soak for 24 hrs (longer if I get busy and forget about them) followed by 2, 24hr clean water soaks and then I leave them on the back patio (full exposure to sun and rain) for at least a week to make sure any remaining bleach has out-gassed. I probably dont need a week in the full sun and elements...its just what I do.

[rbarata]

Katrina, I assume you do that for used pots, right?

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

500'F for two hours! Wow!

500 F for two hours is major overkill. 1hr at 350F-400F is more than sufficient.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by rbarata

Katrina, I assume you do that for used pots, right?

Yes, only used clay pots. Because they are porous, I worry I won't be able to rinse all the bleach out so I prefer to leave them in the elements for a period of time before I put an orchid (or any plant) in them.

For used plastic pots, since they are not porous, they get a bleach soak (after scrubbing) and i rinse them well and then they are ready to go.

[katrina]

I should add that I do this in large batches...not single pots. I have a huge utility sink in the laundry room and I am pretty lazy about getting them done so they build up in my dirty pot holding zone... doing large batches makes relatively quick work of the task.