You go to a hard ware store, or Home depot or Lowe's and go to the box where they sell dowels. Buy the skinny dowels but not so skinny it may break when inserted into soil. Mine are about the size of the ink tube inside a plastic bic pen. When you check the soil for watering, , stick the dowel in the dirt to the root area, wait a second and then feel the dowel. (I test on the inside of my wrist) If it is cold, and especially if you see dark specs of dirt on the dowel, it's not dry yet. If the dowel comes out clean, and dry it's probably time to water. Another helpful trick is to get use to what the weight of a plant feels like, when it is dry and when it is wet. And lastly, really look at your plants. They give off physical ques when they are needing water. Using all these methods, should be all that you need to know to water your av's so they thrive.
Keep in mind, every one looses plants from time to time. Plants can die when everything you did was right. Don't let it get you too down, just take it as a good excuse to go buy a new plant.
