One winter morning, between pouring a cup of coffee and brushing my hair, I heard on the radio that the number of people traveling by air is expected to double in the next five years. Soon I'd be leaving for two weeks. I glanced around the room at my houseplants. How are these plants going to get watered? Do I need to move them around before I go? If you don't have a plant sitter, what's the best way to care for plants?

I took a quick inventory: The ficus' leaves could use a good dusting; a recent aphid attack (we won the battle) left the leaves sticky. The dwarf palm at the west window was looking a little dull, and the weeping fig's clay pot had white crusty stuff on it. Hah! These plants needed a shower -- a plant "car wash" where they'll get cleaned and watered at the same time. Before we step into the shower though, here are some basic cleaning tips for indoor plants:

Bring out the feather duster
Plants need to be cleaned so they look nice, but to keep them healthy, too. Clean leaves "breathe" better. Leaves are a plant's food factories through processes called photosynthesis, transpiration and respiration. If the small openings, or stomata (sto-MAH-tuh), are clogged up with dirt, the plant suffers. Imagine trying to eat through a strainer.

"Where does all the dust come from?" Mom used to ask in frustration. She was convinced it rained from thin air. Dust sneaks in from roads, travels through furnace ducts, and is carried in on shoes. I secretly believe dust is associated with bedroom dust bunnies. Ma and Pa dust bunnies live under beds and their offspring congregate on windowsills, table tops and plant leaves. The bigger the leaf, the more it looks like it's wearing a fur coat. Large-leaved foliage plants such as philodendrons and angel-wing begonias are big dust collectors.

To clean leaves, gently wipe them with a damp sponge. Periodic misting also helps by discouraging dust from settling and sticking in the first place. Avoid commercial leaf cleaners that claim to give leaves a special shine. They do more harm than good by clogging the leaves' stomata.

It's shower time!
Sponging and misting help a lot, but there comes a point when more is better. If outdoor conditions won't allow a rain shower, head for the bathroom shower. Showers give plants a top notch cleaning, the same way that washing your car with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge is much better than just spraying it with a hose.

The soil also gets a good cleansing. Watering plants with little sips means that water doesn't get down to the roots. Thorough waterings are important to encourage deep root growth.

Tap water often contains chlorine and other materials that leave a white, chalky deposit on the surface of the soil and plant pots. Toxic salt deposits also collect from chemical fertilizers and a good watering helps flush them out.

Lastly, pests like fungus gnats, aphids and spider mites don't like all that water.

• Put away the shampoo.
• Turn on the water. Adjust the pressure to a gentle spray and the temperature to lukewarm (baby bottle range).
• Put the plant (or plants) on the bottom of the shower. Better yet, put it on a stool or stand. This makes things easier when it comes to Step 6.
• Close shower door or curtain.
• Move water stream up and down, back and forth around leading edge of plant. (A Shower Massage works great.)
• Rotate plant 90 degrees and repeat Step 5 until the whole plant has been washed. This will take a few minutes. Be prepared to get wet.
• Turn off water and let the plant hang out in the moisture for an hour or so. Believe me, to a plant, this is a real treat.
• Before moving containers with attached bottom trays, tip it slightly to dump out excess water that has collected in the tray. I speak from experience. After I gave my weeping fig its first shower, I picked it up and headed toward the living room. Before taking two steps, my whole front had been baptized with plant water.
• Speaking of moving plants, when you go to move them out of the shower, be very careful. Last I checked, "a pint's a pound the world around" still holds true. Water super-saturates the soil and made it much heavier. Slide the plant pot onto a towel or bathrobe to make it easier (on your back) to move.

Many plants benefit from a shower, including ficus, palms, ivy, Christmas cactus (wait until it's done flowering), citrus, coffee, ferns and spider plants. Plants that don't like getting too wet include cacti and other succulents, and hairy-leaved types such as African violets. Water tends to cause spots and other discolorations.

Next time you make travel preparations, get your plants ready for the journey too. Water them thoroughly before going on a trip. With a shower, you'll not only see an immediate improvement in your plants, but they'll be OK for two to three weeks in your absence.

Of course, they'll miss you while you're gone.

Author Marion Owen, of Kodiak, believes that 'plants gotta have more fun' and has developed a gourmet plant food to prove it. Go to http://www.plantea.com (email: marion@ptialaska.net) or call her at 1-800-253-6331 to find out more.