Woman reveals how she uses tampons to stop her plants from dying – and it works every time
WE may have more plants dotted round our home than we can count on one hand - but that doesn't mean we have any idea how to keep them happy.
And when your favourite fern, orchid or aloe vera starts looking a bit sad, our first reaction is to always give it a good drenching - which can make matters even worse.
Well if you've accidentally overwatered your plants in a panic, then you might want to give this quick hack a try.
Posting in an Australian Facebook group, one savvy plant owner revealed how she stuck tampons in her plant pots after giving them too much water by mistake.
After a few hours, the woman was stunned to find the tampons had doubled in size and absorbed a vast amount of the water in the soil, the reports.
She wrote: "Need a laugh and a hack? I overwatered a few of my hoyas of late and I was worried about these new ones having the same issue.
"I don't use tampons but had them in the back of the cupboard and half the packets were damaged and were rubbish anyway so thought I would give it a go.
"It bloody worked! They have doubled in size. So much moisture drawn out of the soil in only a few hours. So if you accidentally over-water your sensitive plants, plug a tampon in it."
According to gardening website , overwatering your plants essentially drowns them - as they need oxygen in the particles in the soil to survive.
Unsurprisingly, other members of the group were amazed by the "game-changing" life hack - and we can't believe we never thought of it before.
"This is genius," one wrote. "Omg I've been using rolled up toilet paper and replacing every few hours, this is so much better."
Another added: "Wish I had known this, just re-potted a prayer plant in hopes I didn't drown it! Fabulous!"
"I saw someone use this in a kind of the opposite way," a third wrote. "They were going away, so they stuck the tampon in through the bottom and let the string dangle in a bowl of water. Self watering system!"
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