How to Sanitize Pots and Trays the Easy Way (A Quick Reset That Prevents Big Problems)
If you’ve ever had fungus gnats, mystery mold, damping-off, or seedlings that suddenly flop over for no good reason… there’s a good chance your pots and trays had a little “leftover history” on them.
The good news: you don’t need fancy products or a full afternoon of scrubbing to reset your containers. You just need a simple routine that’s easy enough to actually do. Especially in January when we’re prepping for seed starting season.
Below is a beginner-friendly method that works for pots, seed trays, cell inserts, humidity domes, and saucers.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 S𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 M𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡)
Old pots and trays can carry:
* fungus and mold spores
* algae film
* fertilizer salts (that crusty white stuff)
* pest eggs/larvae hiding in creases
* disease organisms from last season’s plants
Sanitizing helps reduce problems before they start. Especially for seed starting, where young plants are extra sensitive.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 (𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞)
Pick what you already have:
* Dish soap + warm water
* A scrub brush or old sponge
* A tub/sink/bucket
* One sanitizer option (choose ONE):
* 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 (fast + very effective)
* 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐞 (easy, less stinky)
* 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫 (fine for mineral buildup, lighter-duty for sanitizing)
*
𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐲” 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝 (𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 → 𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐤 → 𝐃𝐫𝐲)
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟏: 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐞 (𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬)
* Dump old soil and roots
* Knock off loose debris
* Rinse pots/trays with water
𝐓𝐢𝐩: If it’s caked-on, let it soak in plain water for 10 minutes first.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟐: 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬)
Sanitizers don’t work well through dirt.
So do a quick scrub first:
* Add a few drops of dish soap to warm water
* Scrub the inside, bottom, and drainage holes
* Rinse
This step alone fixes a surprising number of issues.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟑: 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐤 (𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐞)
𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐤 (𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 “𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧”)
* Mix 1 part bleach to 9 parts water (a 10% solution)
* Soak pots/trays 10 minutes
* Rinse well
* Air dry completely
𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫: seed trays, domes, anything that previously had disease, or if you’ve had damping-off.
𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: wear gloves, ventilate, and don’t mix bleach with anything else.
𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁: 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐞 (𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 + 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥)
Use regular 𝟑% 𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐞 (the brown bottle kind).
Two easy ways:
* 𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐤: Mix equal parts peroxide + water and soak 10 minutes
* 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝: Spray thoroughly, let sit 10 minutes, then rinse (optional) and dry
𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫: routine cleaning, indoor trays, quick refreshes when you don’t want bleach.
𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂: 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐤 (𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐮𝐩)
* Mix 1 part vinegar to 1 part water
* Soak 20–30 minutes
* Scrub off residue and rinse
𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫: removing white crust/salt buildup on pots and saucers.
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: Vinegar is great for “cleaning,” but if you’re sanitizing after disease, bleach/peroxide is the better choice.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟒: 𝐃𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 (𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐩!)
Let everything 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 before stacking or storing.
Why it matters:
* drying helps reduce lingering spores
* wet, stacked trays can develop mildew
* it keeps everything smelling fresh, not “basementy” 😄
𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞
“𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡” 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞:
𝟏. Rinse + quick scrub
𝟐.Spray with hydrogen peroxide
𝟑. Let sit 10 minutes
𝟒. Air dry
“𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐭”:
𝟏. Scrub
𝟐. Bleach soak 10 minutes
𝟑. Rinse
𝟒. Dry fully
𝐀 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚
Terra cotta pots are porous, so they hold onto salts and gunk more than plastic.
For terra cotta, do:
* Vinegar soak first (for crust)
* Then a bleach or peroxide step if you’re sanitizing for seed starting
𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Do you usually reuse pots and trays each season, or do you start fresh?
And if you’ve had issues like fungus gnats or damping-off before, what’s the one thing you’re most hoping to prevent this year?
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How to Sanitize Pots and Trays the Easy Way (A Quick Reset That Prevents Big Problems)
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