How to do a Light Cleaning of your Gardyn

Doing a Light Cleaning means sterilizing the interior of your Gardyn, including the inside of your irrigation hoses.

We recommend doing a Light Cleaning about 4 times a year to help keep internal biofilm and algae build-up at bay while also boosting plant root health, and therefore your Gardyn's overall health. If you regularly add our plant-based water treatment solution, HydroBoost, to your Gardyn, you can skip Light Cleaning altogether! Learn more about HydroBoost here.

Note: If you're cleaning your Gardyn following a pest problem, dispose of all of your plants by moving/planting them outside or composting them.

1. Harvest all mature plants that are ready to eat on your Gardyn. While optional, this helps lessen your workload of moving around lots of yCubes and large plants, so we recommend it!

2. Get rid of any yCubes that have severe disease or mold infections, especially if they've been resistant to topical hydrogen peroxide treatments.

3. Remove your remaining, disease-free plants from your Gardyn (still in their yPods) and store them on a tray. It takes roots a few hours to dry out, so don't worry if water spills out of the yPods as you handle them.

4. Wipe down the outside of the yPods on the plants you're keeping with a solution of 2 Tablespoons of citric acid mixed in 2 cups of water.

5. Using the same solution, remove any remaining yPods and Gardyn Caps from your Gardyn and soak them for 15 minutes, or leave overnight. Not only does this sterilize the pieces, but it will help remove any biofilm or algae. Your Gardyn's columns should now be empty. 

TIP: If the biofilm or algae on your yPods/Gardyn Caps is stubborn and doesn't come off after the soak, you can use a bottle brush to scrub them after soaking. Just remember, it's okay if not all the growth comes off!

• Check your app to make sure you have at least 3 (Gardyn Home) or 2 (Gardyn Studio) gallons of water in your tank before beginning, and add water if needed.

• Pour 1 cup (Gardyn Home) or 3/4 cup (Gardyn Studio) of citric acid into 2 cups of water and mix well to dissolve, then pour the dissolved mixture directly into your tank's dirty water through the watering compartment. In your app, manually activate a watering cycle by tapping the water level tile and toggling the cycle to on (green). The cycle will automatically end after 15 minutes.

Once the water cycle with the added citric acid is complete, use the same prep steps as a tank refresh to power down your Gardyn so you can detach and empty the tank. Reattach your tank, add 3 (Gardyn Home) or 2 (Gardyn Studio) fresh gallons of water, and run another watering cycle using the toggle in the app. When this second water cycle is complete, detach and wash your tank with dishsoap and water, ensuring you rinse it well.

If you're preparing to immediately start fresh with a new generation of plants on your Gardyn and discarding all of your existing plants, fill your tank with 3 gallons of water only (no plant food) - it's the same amount for Gardyn Home and Gardyn Studio. If you're returning mature plants to your Gardyn, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of plant food per gallon of water to fill your tank (5 gallons for Gardyn Home, 4 gallons for Gardyn Studio).

Reattach the upper half of your Gardyn by once again lifting by the columns to replace the top half onto your water tank. Lower the pump, lock the lid into place, plug your device back in, and switch it on. Add your now-clean yPods, and return the plants you kept (if any) to your Gardyn. Be sure to cover any empty spots with Gardyn Caps to prevent anything unwanted from entering or growing inside your device.

Let your Gardyn reboot, which can take ~5 minutes. Your light and water schedules will pick up where they left off, so you're good to grow! Don’t forget to log your completed cleaning as a tank refresh in the app when you’re done.

Questions? Reach us at support@mygardyn.com, or chat with us. We're here to help!