I did some summer maintenance on my almost 1 year old Harbor Freight GH yesterday . I cleaned the outside of the greenhouse, cleared the gutters, removing the gutter "stops" on the end as it seems to clog up with debris. I also inspected it. Some of my taping on the panel edges leaked. I could get soapy water inside the channels where mold has creeped in. I will pour some bleach into those spots to discourage it from growing. Some of the rope insulation. Has slipped. I will get up there and put it back into place. I used this Scott's product because it said it was safe for plants. It power washed ut with the attached spray nozzle. And I used a string mop to scrub off the grime. It worked like a charm and the panels are sparkling again. I was inside late in the afternoon and happened to look up. The clean ceiling with the sun reflecting off it surprised me and made me smile. The panels are much cleaner than this empty bottle!

Looks brand new, Cheryl.

At my old house I clean mine out every few years .. my old one had a gravel floor so I always sprayed heavy duty weed killer on the floor and once that dried dusted it with diatomaceous earth.

Mine could definitely use a good cleaning... and some repairs, as well! Maybe if I ever manage to get all of my plants out of there and into the ground I'll be able to tackle that project

ShadyGreenThumb said:I did some summer maintenance on my almost 1 year old Harbor Freight GH yesterday . I cleaned the outside of the greenhouse, cleared the gutters, removing the gutter "stops" on the end as it seems to clog up with debris. I also inspected it. Some of my taping on the panel edges leaked. I could get soapy water inside the channels where mold has creeped in. I will pour some bleach into those spots to discourage it from growing. Some of the rope insulation. Has slipped. I will get up there and put it back into place. I used this Scott's product because it said it was safe for plants. It power washed ut with the attached spray nozzle. And I used a string mop to scrub off the grime. It worked like a charm and the panels are sparkling again. I was inside late in the afternoon and happened to look up. The clean ceiling with the sun reflecting off it surprised me and made me smile. The panels are much cleaner than this empty bottle!

Hey, what is the plant on right side with weird looking leaf??

@Mark619 In the foreground that's a small Chaya Tree with an elephant ear in the pot that sprouted up with it. Behind that is a small banana. Chaya is used for medicinal purposes in the Hispanic culture I believe? The leaves are toxic until boiled for 20 mins. Tastes like spinach? IDK? I am a little afraid to try it since I am bad at keeping time!

That's what I thought it was!! Lol I've seen articles before that said eating the leaf raw releases cyanide but I know people who eat a leaf a day (raw) and nothing has happened to them...I'm a chicken so I won't try it!! Lol they call it Chaya or tree spinach..WIKI--lol--> it's high in protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin A. levels of chaya leaf nutrients are two- to threefold greater than any other land-based leafy green vegetable.Chaya leaves have a possible antidiabetic effect.

I'll have to give that cleaner a try. Would you use it inside the GH with the doors open.

@eric4home I would use it inside if I didn't have anything that would be harmed by getting wet. I didn't smell any odor.

Thanks Cheryl, I unfortunately didn't have the forethought to clean the GH panels before I had to start moving the tropicals back into it. I did a good cleaning of the interior for the Garden club picnic. I guess I'll be moving enough plants to clean a couple of panels at a time.
We just had way too much vacation this year. If there is such a thing. I'm still trying to catch up from May. We are supposed to be in the 30s by Sunday night.

We are still having mild weather, which is a blessing, we're well up on our yardening and GH chores. I cleaned the exterior of the panels, using a siding cleaner from Ace, and WOW. I never imagined just how much dirt was there till I got started. I used a floor mop with a scrubby like surface and it did most of the work. I thought it would give me better light when I put the solar blanket on, hopefully this weekend.

OK so a few questions.
1. How do you scrub those panels and not knock them loose? I feel like my HFGH wouldn't stand up to a scrubbing.
2. Why is there so much shade on your greenhouse? For Temperature control in summer?

When I cleaned mine, the solution did all the work. The cotton mop I used just loosened the dirt and algae so that I could hose it off. It was easy enough with only a wet mop on the panels. None came loose. I do, however, have my panels secured to the frame with screws.

I just mopped as if doing a linoleum floor, Oh, and my panels are secured by silicon and screws due to wind potential here. After all it did blow this potting shed over and it is is a protected area by the driveway.

What material do you guys use for flooring? I have an underused in-ground greenhouse with a dirt floor. One corner wicks moisture and will grow a few weeds but the rest is dry and dusty. (We are just begining to use it for growing needs.) Any ideas for organic/earth friendly flooring material in our east Texas environment?

I use cypress mulch as my sub-flooring, about 3" thick. I cover this with greenhouse fabric, a fabric that allows water to pass but won't allow weeds or anything else to grow through it. The cypress absorbs the water that runs off when watering my plants, helps keep the humidity up by slowly evaporating the water, and provides a comfortable walking/standing cushion. Under that cypress/fabric is pretty much pure clay.

I used pea gravel over landscape fabric over sand with big pavers in the walking area. My original hope was that the gravel and pavers would hold some heat in the winter time but I couldn't tell you if it does or not. I don't grow in the ground inside the greenhouse but I am a messy person so the gravel has worked well.

Our deck was built on a wood deck.This year, I put down rubber mats, the one with the puzzle sides over it to help with insulation. I will pull it up for the summer. Or not if it insulates from the heat.

I took advantage of the still mild weather today and to shut down the power and gas to the GH and set off a fogger. I still had a few pest on a couple of plants. This should take care of any hold outs. I use the Hot Shot Foggers, they are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and don't have a high mammal toxicity or LD50.