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ornamental basket or container, and pour lots and lots of water through the growing pot. Some folks are afraid to do this, because they've heard warnings about over watering, but this will not cause over watering if it can all run out. You are essentially rinsing the soil and diluting the salts. Let it drain completely and don't forget to clean the saucer before putting the house plant back. If the house plant is too big to put in a sink, try taking it to a garage or patio and using the hose.

If the crusty white or yellow build up is already present, scrape it off with a knife or a dish scrubber. Avoid letting the particles fall back into the soil. If there is a crust on the soil itself, scrape off the top inch of soil and add the same amount of fresh potting soil. Sometimes it's best to simply repot the house plant into a clean pot.

To keep house plants from accumulating salt build up, don't use water processed by a water softening system unless it has a deionizer. Always put house plants into containers with drainage holes. Water thoroughly so that some water runs out into the saucer, then promptly empty the saucer, before the water can be reabsorbed.

Just about every house plant article you'll read will warn against over watering or letting the plant sit in saucer full of water, but for some reason, few mention soluble salt build up. Unfortunately, I would say this is the second most common cause of house plant death, behind the over or under watering mistake.

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