How to Clean an Aerogarden

AeroGardens have made the whole process of growing your own herbs, flowers, and vegetables incredibly easy—and cleaning them out is no exception. Whether you have a Harvest, Bounty, or other model of AeroGarden, it’s important to thoroughly clean it every time you want to plant a new round of seeds. We’ll walk you through how to remove root buildup in your AeroGarden, then explain how to clean the device either with a dishwasher or by hand. Here’s our complete guide on how to clean an AeroGarden.

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]Removing Root Buildup

1. Dismantle the AeroGarden. Start by taking off the top of the AeroGarden, then remove the bowl. If your AeroGarden has other parts that can be disassembled, like a tray that separates into two parts, disassemble these parts as well.^[1]
   
   • Some models of AeroGarden have a tube in the back that connects the device to its water supply. If yours does, unplug it.^[2]
   • Be sure to separate as many components as possible—roots can get everywhere in the device, including between plates and in small crevices.
2. Clean out any visible roots by hand. If you’ve been using your AeroGarden for a while, it’s likely that there’s already quite a lot of root buildup. Pull off any roots you can see by hand, then dispose of them.^[3]
   
   • If there’s grime attached to certain parts of your AeroGarden, like its tray, you may need to scrub it with your fingernail or steel wool.
3. Clean out the filter. At the bottom of your AeroGarden’s bowl, you’ll see a square pump and filtration device. To remove it for cleaning, you may need to use a small screwdriver to unscrew it from the rest of the bowl. Pull off any roots that have gotten into the cracks of the filter.^[4]
   
   • If your filter is worn out and seems like its falling apart, purchase a new one. This will preserve the longevity of your pump.

[Edit]Cleaning Your AeroGarden with a Dishwasher

1. Put the AeroGarden’s tray and bowl on the top rack of the dishwasher. Your bowl’s plastic may be damaged by the heating elements of the dishwasher’s bottom rack. To prevent your AeroGarden’s parts from warping, use the top shelf.^[5]
   
2. Use a warm or cold water wash cycle. Using your regular dishwasher detergent, run your dishwasher through a warm or cold cycle. Don’t use hot water or a dry heat cycle—this can damage the equipment.^[6]
   
3. Reassemble your AeroGarden. After taking the bowl and top out of the dishwasher, put your AeroGarden back together. Reattach the pump if you removed it earlier to clean the filter and place the tray back onto the bowl. You’re now ready to start growing a whole new batch of seeds.^[7]
   
   • If you removed the tube for the water pump, you can now plug it back in.
   • Keep in mind that you’ll need to do this deep cleaning process every time you plan on growing new seeds. Otherwise, they may not grow as well as they should.

[Edit]Cleaning Your AeroGarden by Hand

1. Start with your AeroGarden fully assembled. If you disassembled your Aerogarden to remove the roots by hand, put it back together. Reattach the pump if you removed it earlier to clean the filter, and attach your bowl to the water supply.
   
2. Fill the bowl with water and ¼ cup (60 mL) of bleach. Add enough water to fill close to the entire bowl. This solution will disinfect your bowl and can remove mineral deposits. If you don’t have bleach, you can fill the bowl with of distilled white vinegar instead, without needing to add water.^[8]
   
   • Never mix bleach and vinegar. This can produce a toxic chlorine gas.^[9]
3. Press the plant food button. This will get the pump started and circulate the solution throughout the device.^[10]
   
4. Let the solution circulate through the machine for 5 minutes. If your pump stops working midway through, press the plant food button once more to get it running again.^[11]
   
5. Empty out the cleaning solution. After 5 minutes, the cleaning solution should have disinfected and cleaned out the bowl. Remove the bowl and dump the solution into your sink.^[12]
   
6. Rinse the machine with clean water. After you've cleaned the bowl with the bleach or vinegar solution, refill the bowl with clean water. Press the plant food button on the machine to have this water circulate through the system.^[13]
   
7. Empty the bowl. Once you’ve finished rinsing the machine, dump out the water. You can let the machine air dry or wipe it with a paper towel. It’s now ready to host a whole new crop of seeds!^[14]
   
   • If you used bleach instead of vinegar, you may want to rinse the bowl once more in your sink. That way, you can be sure all the bleach is gone.
   • This process should be repeated every time you’re growing a new set of seeds. AeroGardens can have a lot of grime and roots build up over time.

[Edit]References