Terracotta plant pots are notorious for getting a crusty white residue on them over time. It looks bad but don’t worry, cleaning clay pots is quick and easy. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to clean terracotta pots in 3 simple steps!
Check this out, I recently got a bunch of free clay pots from a nice lady on Craigslist. There were about 25 various sized terracotta plant pots in total – awesome score, right?!
The clay pots are very old, and they looked nasty, but I could see the beauty that lies beneath all that crusted on grime.
Before cleaning crusty old clay pots
What Is The White Residue On Terracotta Pots Anyway?
One of the advantages of using terracotta pots is that they absorb water from the soil, and help prevent over-watering your plants (I use them to grow all of my succulents and cactus plants).
But, terracotta pots also absorb fertilizers, as well as salts and other chemicals that are commonly found in tap water. Over time, these salts and chemicals will build up and create a crusty or chalky white residue on your beautiful clay pots.
To help prevent this, I recommend using rainwater to water your plants rather than tap water. Also, skip the chemical fertilizers and use an organic fertilizer instead, or try an organic compost solution.
Using rainwater and organic fertilizers is much healthier for your plants anyway (and better for the environment too. Win, win!), and will help to keep your beautiful terracotta pots clean much longer!
White residue on terracotta pots
Why Should You Clean Terracotta Pots?
Some people really like the look of crusty old terracotta pots, and don’t want to clean them. Unfortunately, using dirty pots over and over again can be very unhealthy for your plants.
Dirty pots can harbor pests and diseases, which is definitely not something you want. Cleaning and disinfecting plant pots is a habit you should get into no matter what type they are.
If you’re wondering how to clean clay pots with plants in them, well… if a plant has been growing in the same terracotta pot for so long that the pot has buildup on it, then it’s time to repot that plant and give it some fresh soil anyway.
So take this opportunity to repot your neglected plants, and clean their pots too. Oh, and if you like the look of crusty terracotta plant pots, then you can paint them to look that way, and still have clean pots. Learn all about painting terracotta pots here.
Alright, off my soapbox. Let’s get busy cleaning some terracotta pots!
Crusty residue on old terracotta pot
How To Clean Terracotta Pots
Supplies Needed:
- Pot brush
- White vinegar
- Utility tub (for large terracotta planters) or a bucket or sink (for smaller pots)
- Dishwasher (optional)
Step 1: Remove any loose dirt from the pot. Use your pot brush to clean as much dirt as you can off of the clay pot. In my case, I also needed to brush cobwebs and other debris off my pots (yuck!).
You don’t need to be super fussy here, cause you don’t need to get all the dirt off. Just brush off the loose dirt, and any large chunks of soil that might be stuck to the pot. The rest will come off in the next steps.
Remove loose dirt from terracotta pot
Step 2: Soak clay pots in vinegar/water solution.
Ideally, you would use 1 cup of white vinegar (5% acidity) for every 3-4 cups of water. The less vinegar you use in the water, the longer you’ll need to soak the pots.
Completely submerge the clay pots in the solution. You may hear a sizzling sounds or see bubbles.
Don’t worry, that’s a combination of the vinegar doing it’s job at dissolving the crusty buildup, and the clay pot absorbing the water.
I start by soaking crusty clay pots for 20-30 minutes. If the buildup wipes or scrubs off easily, they’re done.
Otherwise, I’ll soak the pots longer. Keep checking until all the residue is easy to remove. You may need to use your pot brush to scrub some of the residue off.
Soaking terracotta pots in a vinegar and water solution
For really tough crusty buildup, you can soak the pot in pure vinegar (in the photo below, I’m just soaking the rim of the pot where the crusty buildup is the worst).
If you soak the entire clay pot in vinegar, you should soak it in water afterward to dilute the vinegar the pot absorbed.
Soaking terracotta pot in vinegar to remove tough buildup
Step 3: Run pots through the dishwasher. As a last step, I run the terracotta pots through the quick wash cycle on my dishwasher.
This will help to disinfect the pots and clean them.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, you can use a little extra elbow grease and scrub the pots in soapy water.
That’s it, you’re done! See, I told you it was easy.
As for those dirty, crusty old clay pots I got for free. Well, here’s what they look like after I finished cleaning them…
Clean and shiny terracotta pots look brand new
WOW! Can you believe these are the same terracotta pots?
Seriously, it took about 30 minutes of my time (not counting the time I let the pots soak, and the time it took for the dishwasher to run) to clean these pots.
I’m pretty sure it’s been several years since these pots have been cleaned (if ever). And now I have what look like brand new terracotta pots (for free!).
Totally worth it!
How To Clean Large Terracotta Pots
If you have large terracotta garden pots that are too big to submerge in a utility tub, bucket or sink, don’t worry! You can still use this method. Simply soak 1/2 of the planter at a time.
Once you’ve cleaned off all the crusty residue (steps 1-2) on the first half, then flip it over and do the same thing to the other half.
Obviously you won’t be able to run large clay pots through the dishwasher, but that’s ok. You can just wash them with soapy water instead.
Terracotta pots have a timeless beauty, and can last for many years if given some TLC once and a while. The good news is, it doesn’t take much time to give new life to your crusty old clay pots.
Now you can shop yard sales and thrift shops to find cheap terracotta flower pots (or maybe you’ll find a bunch for free like I did!), and then clean them up like new!
Why buy terracotta pots brand new when you can save yourself tons of money with just a little time and elbow grease by cleaning old ones!
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Share your tips for cleaning terracotta pots in the comments section below!
Monica the Garden Faerie says
I've used a similar combo of equal parts water, white vinegar + rubbing alcohol) and sometimes a solution of one part bleach to 10 parts water, which means I can skip the dishwasher step (which is a good thing because my dishwasher is tiny).
Amy Andrychowicz says
Great, thanks for sharing your formulas! It's always good to hear how other people clean terracotta pots. I've used the same bleach solution for disinfecting plant pots that aren't dishwasher safe, and my seedling trays.
El Gaucho says
Very cool, thanks. I've often seen terra cotta pots for cheap, or free, at garage sales or estate sales, but have always been put off by the icky buildup on them since I didn't know how to clean them correctly. Now I know, bring on the pots!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You're welcome! LOL, now that you know how to clean terracotta pots, you won't find any. Well, that's usually the way it goes for me at least. 🙂 Good luck!
Candy "Sweetstuff" says
This is an awesome post and I am going to share! I have always wanted to know how to get rid of this stuff and reuse my pots! Thank you so much!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thank you!!
Anonymous says
My dog has urinated on my terra cotta pots. Will the vinegar and water remove the stain also?
Amy Andrychowicz says
LOL, that's not good! I can't say for sure because I've never tried it… but I would expect the stain would be removed if you cleaned your terracotta pots using this method. You could try scrubbing your pots with a pot brush and soapy water first if your there are plants in them you don't want to remove. Otherwise, I would try soaking the clay pots in the vinegar/water solution (remove the plants first). You could also add a small amount of bleach to disinfect them, which would also help to remove the stain.
Julie says
I remember my granddad always cleaned his pots each year before he used them, he used to talk about pests or diseases or something. I never bother but I am no where near as good a gardener as he was. I don’t know what method he used either but this looks easy and effective, thanks.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, leaving them dirty can spread both pests and disease. It is easy to clean terracotta pots this way, and they look beautiful after they’re clean. 🙂
stacey says
Thank you for sharing this! We have our pots outside since we moved to New England in August- they need a big cleaning!
Alex says
Would putting them in the dishwasher with vinegar in place of detergent work as well? Just wondering if anyone has mentioned this process?
Amy Andrychowicz says
It won’t work to remove the crusty buildup on clay pots. You need to soak the pots in the vinegar solution long enough to dissolve the buildup. Simply running them through the dishwasher with vinegar won’t be enough to remove the crusty buildup – but it will clean off the dirt and other residue, and disinfect your pots.
Patrick Ryan says
Amy: great article, as always. So glad you mentioned the chemical buildup in clay pots. Just another reason go organic for the benefit of those awesome microorganisms in healthy soil!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks Patrick. Yes, another great reason to go organic, for sure!
Erin says
I am seeing alot of pots being painted. Is that safe for the plant? Seems it may defeat the purpose of a clay pot? Great article! Thanks!
Amy Andrychowicz says
As long as the paint doesn’t contain lead, then I don’t see any harm in it. It can defeat the purpose of clay pots if a sealant is added, but terracotta pots are readily available, and are wonderful for crafts and painting. 🙂 Here’s a post I wrote with tons of info and step-by-step instructions for painting terracotta pots.
Maggie Merrey says
How can I re-paint the terracotta pots? If possible to do it? How?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, you can paint your terracotta pots! Here’s a post with step-by-step instructions… How To Paint Terracotta Pots
Adrienne says
So when you put them I. The dishwasher do you use detergent?
Thanks
Adrienne
Amy Andrychowicz says
Nope, I just use the quick-rinse cycle.
Sharon Smith says
Thank you for the information about using vinegar for cleaning flower pots.
Will cider vinegar work? I’m gluten intolerant & can’t use white vinegar or bleach.
I have several droopy house plants in dire need of clean pots, fresh potting soil and a lot of TLC.
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome! I don’t think that apple cider vinegar will dissolve the hard deposits that build up on terracotta pots like white vinegar does. You could certainly give it a try though, I have never tried it myself. It will still clean some of the stuff off the pots, but it may not dissolve all the crusty stuff.