I'm a novice when it comes to plants in general, but have acquired two orchids in the past six months (phals). I have always been petrified of overwatering them and have, of course, under watered them. They both have limp, sad looking leaves with yellowing and when I examined their roots, they had many that were dried up and brown. I read that I should float them in water for about half an hour and have since done that and placed them back in their homes (clay pots with good drainage and bark). My question is, now what? Do I give them time to acclimate to the pots again, keep them inside, and just mist them?

Quick background, one of these I got this year for Valentine's day and made the mistake of repotting it almost immediately due to its decorative, low drainage pot. It was flowering and happy, and I've read that I've probably shocked it. The other is a rescue from a friends, and was repotted six months ago and has since grown two new little roots towards the bottoms of the leaves. I also managed to grow a new leaf, but now it's tanking. See picture.

On watering in general, I've read a lot of different techniques. I live in Florida, specifically Tampa, and these guys sit out on my west facing balcony. Generally, full sun doesn't hit them until much later in the day, say five o'clock or so. I see that some people put the whole pot in the sink and run water through them (for how long, can I drown the poor thing?), I've read that some people mist them (but I shouldn't because leaving the water on the leaves with the sun could burn them?), and various other things.