Whether you have a small grow tent or you’re cultivating marijuana in a grow room, it’s important to cultivate a clean environment for your weed plants.
A dirty grow tent can harm your plants and open your grow tent to all kinds of pests and diseases.
We’ll review some ways to keep your grow tent clean and what you’ll need. Let’s get started!
How to Clean Your Grow Tent
Here are the cleaning products and equipment you’ll need to keep your grow room clean and kill bacteria. We’ll cover the cleaning steps by equipment, not by order.
And if you’re here but aren’t sure what a grow tent is, welcome! Here’s what you’ll need to know what grow tents are.
What You’ll Need:
- A wet/dry vacuum cleaner (Shop vac)
- Cleaning agent (Hydrogen peroxide, bleach, vinegar, etc.)
- Protective rubber gloves
- Face mask
- Protective gloves
- Clean, soft cloth
IMPORTANT: NEVER mix bleach with hydrogen peroxide or vinegar when cleaning your grow tent. Each substance is strong enough to clean your tent; combining them can create a toxic gas.
Grow Room Canvas
Your grow tent’s canvas is one of the first things you should clean, and we recommend starting with the interior. Before you begin cleaning, kill the power to all your equipment except the extraction fan.
Keep your extraction system on to ensure the fumes from your bleach solution don’t linger inside your grow tent. Remove everything you can and take it outside for a deep clean.
Sweep the floors and vacuum them to ensure they’re dirt and debris-free. Take care to get in the corners and other difficult-to-reach surfaces!
If you’ve recently finished a growing cycle, simply wipe the walls with a damp cloth from top to bottom. Now it’s time to make a bleach and water solution.
Mix 1 part bleach with 10 parts hot water and wipe your grow tent down. Scrub the floors if needed, but ensure you completely dry out all surfaces before returning your equipment.
If your current tent isn’t cutting it anymore, you can find other great grow tents.
Floor
Using a grow tent, you will likely have a removable floor tray. Cleaning this will be much quicker.
Simply remove the floor tray, wipe it down, and spray the newly-exposed corners with a bleach cleaning solution. Ensure it doesn’t reach the lighting system or yourself.
We also advise vacuuming the floors at least once a week to stop insects from establishing a foothold in your grow room. This will also stop any pests from re-entering your grow tent after cleaning.
Fans and the Ventilation System
Your tent’s extraction system keeps your plants cool, but since it’s constantly circulating air and potentially bacteria, it also needs a good cleaning.
Before you start cleaning, it’s important to turn off your circulation fans. This will stop your ventilation system from spreading bleach solution all over your grow tent’s walls.
Take a damp cloth and gently wipe down the fans you can reach, then get a shop vac to pick up anything you can’t.
Check the surfaces of your ventilation system for holes and possible sources of leaks, and seal them with duct tape while you’re there.
Carbon Filter
The next component is your carbon filter. Since your carbon filter keeps the air clean for your plants, it’s also a magnet for dust and dirt to settle.
Your filter’s air intake is useful for purifying the air and removing odors from your grow tent, but it can also collect debris and dirty air from the outside, so it may need replacing.
The life expectancy of every carbon filter is different, so check the manufacturer’s guidelines for your model.
If it needs replacing, get a new filter before your next growing cycle. This will ensure your grow tent’s air is clean.
Hydroponic Systems
This section’s important if your grow room or tent has a hydroponic system. However, if you use a lighting system, you can skip it.
First, remove all equipment from your grow room. This means pots, fans, filters, everything except the walls, and the hydroponic system.
Inspect the floor for insects, debris, and dust, and sweep them away. Next, disassemble your hydroponic system because it’s time to give each part a deep cleaning.
Place the parts in a hydrogen peroxide and water solution (3ml hydrogen peroxide for every 1 gallon of water) and set aside for 4-6 hours.
Scrub your other containers free of dirt with a soap and hot water mix, then disinfect them with isopropyl alcohol.
Assemble the parts again and run pure water through your system for a few cycles to flush out any remaining impurities. Wipe down the floor or use a shop vac to dry it properly before bringing your pots back within the grow tent.
You may want a bigger tent if your hydroponic systems can handle it. 4×4 grow tent kits are ideal for larger harvests.
Light Systems
Next on hard-to-clean surfaces is your lighting system. If your grow room lights are particularly bright, we recommend dimming them or wearing grow glasses before you can start cleaning your grow room.
This will protect your eyes while you clean. If you have a microfiber wipe or another soft cloth, dampen it slightly, then use it to dust the top of the grow lamps gently.
Switch to disinfectant wipes to kill any remaining bacteria and microscopic pests. Now, for your reflectors, it’s best to switch to a 3 parts water and 3 parts vinegar cleaning mix.
LED grow lights can handle dust, humidity, and moisture with no problem, but bleach and hydrogen peroxide are strong corrosives and will damage your lighting system.
Dip a cloth into your vinegar-water cleaning solution and wipe down your grow light reflectors, then switch to another clean rag with water to remove the vinegar residue.
All light systems depend on their reflector for efficiency, so getting them as clean as possible is vital.
Pots
Now it’s time for your growing containers. Remove them from your grow tent and clean them with water and dish soap.
Clean your containers carefully to remove all debris and salt deposits that may have accumulated. Check all the corners and under the rim, and rinse it thoroughly.
Leave them in the sun to fully air-dry before returning them to your tent, as soapy residue can harm your new plants.
If you have fabric pots, it’s the same process, but you can also place them in a washing machine for quick cleaning. Check the fabric for any tears or signs of damage, and replace any damaged containers.
Pots are a vital part of any indoor growing operation, but they’re not the only accessory you need. Remember to pick up the other grow tent accessories you need to keep your plants healthy.
Growing Medium
By now, you should’ve cleaned everything you can see and touch, but there’s one thing you can’t wipe down: the soil itself!
If your last batch of cannabis was infested with pests, we suggest checking your soil to see if they’re still hiding within.
This also goes for new soil, like from cannabis clones. To ensure that your soil is clean, you can heat-treat it by laying it over plastic and moistening it slightly.
Cover this layer of soil with another layer of plastic, then secure it with stones. Leave it outside for 4-6 weeks under the sun, then return it to your pots.
How to Maintain a Clean Growing Environment
While cleaning your grow tent regularly is a good practice, that’s only a cure. Preventing your new grow tent from accumulating dirt is more important and can save you from headaches in the long run.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
You can stave off pest problems by regularly practicing IPM in your grow room. IPM is a proactive approach that’s designed to tackle pests before they can damage your plants.
One of its key principles is observation; keep an eye out for insect eggs and spider mites on your plants and immediately remove any containers once you see signs of infection.
You can also use other bugs to remove pests. Ladybugs won’t touch your cannabis, but they’re a natural predator of spider mites.
Bacteria and Disease
Even the soil and air in a dirty grow tent can cause problems for your marijuana plants. Harmful bacteria from your harvest can spread to anyone who uses your marijuana.
Then there are diseases like powdery mildew and bud rot, or Botrytis. Powdery mildew can crop up during periods of high humidity, so ensure your tent has the right humidity.
Bud rot is a mold that attacks when plants stay moist for too long. Keep your cannabis on a strict watering schedule, and ensure the temperature doesn’t exceed 85°F.
Check Your Clones Carefully
Some growers speed up their harvest times by buying clones to cultivate. Clones are weed plants sliced off a mother plant and potted.
Unfortunately, pests like insects can hitch a ride on any new clones straight into your grow tent. It’s best practice to carefully inspect the soil and leaves on any plants you buy.
Some pests leave noticeable marks like bites on their hosts, which are easily spotted.
If you think the clones need cleaning, move them to new containers and quarantine them for a few days or a week if necessary. Then you can introduce them to the rest of your plants.
How Often Should I Clean My Grow Tent?
We don’t advocate treating your tent to a daily deep clean, but it helps to incorporate regular checks into your daily routine.
To help your grow space maintain its cleanliness and usability, ensure you wipe it down thoroughly after each harvest in time for the next cycle.
We also recommend weekly vacuuming to collect debris and dust alongside insect eggs. Don’t be afraid to inspect your marijuana for harmful insects.
If cleaning your grow tent feels like a hassle and you’d like to downsize, why not get a smaller one? Smaller grow tents can still provide you with a good harvest.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Learn more about how to clean a grow tent here!
Can I Use Vinegar to Clean a Grow Tent?
Yes, you can clean your grow tent with vinegar! It makes a good substitute for bleach and other cleaning agents, but remember to keep your cleaning solution away from your plants.
What’s the Best Cleaner for Grow Tents?
Home growers have various cleaning agents they can use for their grow tents, and none are the “best” cleaners. Bleach and hydrogen peroxide are strong substances, so many growers’ first choice.
Conclusion
Clean grow tents mean clean and healthy plants, which is better for everyone. To ensure your plants have a clean growing environment, practice giving your grow tent a thorough clean regularly.
A clean grow space can help prevent pests like spider mites and bacteria from contaminating your new plants.It’s vital to keep your grow tent clean and free of dust and dirt. Cleaning may seem like a hassle at first, but it’s worth it to keep you and your plants healthy!
