If you've got a collection of terracotta pots that are just a little bit rough looking.

They don't look great. There's some salt stains on them. They just kind of look bleh.

Let's talk about how to clean them.

Most people are used to seeing both dirt on the pot, but also on terracotta specifically you see a lot of a white sort of

chalky style buildup on the side of the pot and now what is that that's the thing to ask yourself before you ask yourself how to clean it

Well the thing to know about a terracotta pot is that it is

Absorbent and that's why it can lose water quicker than other types of pots, like a plastic or a metal pot.

Now, that also means it's absorbing different compounds, like fertilizer in the soil, salts,

other chemicals will be absorbed into that clay, and then they don't make it all the way out because they

don't evaporate into the air like the water does.

And so then you'll get that little bit of residue left on the pot.

Now some people like this look

because it gives it more of a patina,

but I think that in this particular case,

you don't want it to get too too out of control because it can just be a little bit

unsightly it can harbor different sorts of pests and diseases you just want to

clean it out make sure it's nice and not crusty so how do you do this well the things you're going to need is some kind of

brush, like a nice wire scrub brush could be really nice. Vinegar is a go-to in the kitchen at least for me for cleaning and cooking but also in the world of

cleaning up a pot it's pretty useful. I would say a large tote can be great because then you can do

some soaking or you can just work it really nicely. So one cup of vinegar to about four cups of

water is your ratio. Then you want to do a complete soak. I would say about half an hour or so, give it a nice soak, and then just

hit it with a scrub brush and it will clean them up really nicely, really, really nicely.

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