Why not just leave the plant in the pot and see how the smell changes over time?

I'm curious if anyone else has had this happen since this is the second time it has happened to me.

I'm willing to try leaving it alone if the smell will actually dissipate. But if it's going to smell like this for days or every time I water, it's not a smell I can tolerate. It's quite strong to me. This is an indoor plant not outdoor so the whole room smells like it right now.

So I would put the pot outside with the soil you plan to use and just water it every day until the smell goes away.. At that point take it inside and use it as originally intended.

Did you soak the pot before use?

No I did not soak it before use. I never soak terra cotta pots. I have many. I know it's recommended but I don't do it.

I just planted two new terra cotta pots but I soaked them well first. I found no order at all. I hope it dissipates as there is nothing nice about a musty smell. Did the pots have a bad order before you planted in them? Could it be the media? Is there anyway you can rinse the pots well and let them dry well without drowning your plants? I have never heard of this before so good luck.

Patti. I know it's not the media. The pot had no odor before It got wet.

I think I'm going to repot the plant into a nursery pot and then use the terra cotta pot as a cache pot.

@popmama I think you have yourself trapped in a thought jail and you need help getting out. You want to not use the pot as a pot because it had a smell the first time you used it? How about actually solving the problem, which is trivial to solve. The pot is obviously outgassing some chemical from the manufacturing process that was activated by soil and water. So put the soil you want to use in the pot. Take it outside where you do not have to smell it. Water it. Wait one week for the off gassing to end. Use the pot.

Why make such an easy problem so hard?

Hmmm..."thought jail" seems pretty harsh. My purpose for posting was to share experiences and to get opinions and advice. I appreciate the responses. I'll take them all into account as I make my final decision.

Maybe this thread will help someone else who experiences the same odd issue.

@popmama I am not trying to be harsh. I am trying to fix in a few minutes what is very easy to fix, without understanding some enormously complex chemistry that accounts for why your pot smelled.

I agree that this thread might help someone else in the future with the same problem.

I have always known to soak a terra cotta pot before using it so I think this is why you are getting the odor also. It happened twice and twice you did not soak the pot you said. if you going to remove the media you may as well and soak the pot and see if you get that musty order to go away. I would not like the smell either but why waste a great pot if the issue can be solved with water whether it is a soaking or a flushing. Try it please. :-)

That sounds like a good plan, patti! When I remove the plant, I will try soaking the pot to see if that helps so that at least it will be useable in the future.

I have never heard of soaking a terricota pot before use. But i just planted a plant in a new terricota pot, and after watering it, it has a musty smell. My plant cant go outside at night, but i'll hope after a fee more waters the smell will go away. Pot was clean, no smell before potting. (Omg such a strong smell!)

Hey thanks Squid ggg for the post! The smell on mine did dissipate after several waterings. So that's good news. Let me know what happens with yours!

Thank you for your post! I have been buying terracotta for years without any reason to soak. Not sure why these two new pots are putting out that awful musty smell after watering but it looks like I may be a pot soaker convert after this! Its terrrrrible 😂

I'm just happy that other people have experienced this and now I don't feel quite as nutty!

Oh shoot. is that what it is?! i just replanted a few indoor plants and theres definately a foul odor, and i think its my walmart clay pots. swell. i'll see if it disapates in time. If not, i guess its back to plastic.

Eddie, the smell on mine did dissipate. Thank goodness!

I'm having this problem, too. Found (what I thought was) an old terra cotta pot in the garage and planted some cuttings in it. I did not soak first (because I am a newbie and didn't know to do that) and after watering, the pot started to smell musty and show a white, kinda slimy film all over. I am thinking it may be a mold/fungus based on a couple of other search hits, but anyway, I was glad to find this post and the (helpful) responses. I'll go ahead and repot the cuttings so as not to risk them and then soak and rinse the terra cotta with vinegar as suggested on another site and hope for the best ;-)

Michigan (zone 5a/b)

I have searched everywhere for this information.

I bought new terra cotta pots (never used) from a nursery. I set them in the kitchen sink while i removed the price tag stickers. They got splashed with water and emitted a horrible moldy smell. I rinsed them all thorougly but as they dried the still smelled. I soaked them overnight and they still smelled. I sprayed them all over with vinegar (which removed the smell momentarily) but they stilled smelled the next day.

Is it possible to get rid of the smell? Did they soak in water at the nursery and get infested with mold (No Visible signs or discoloration on the interior or exterior)? Should I throw them out? I CAN’T stand the smell and they are to be used indoors. Any suggestions?

Michigan, you could try a quick soak in water with just a drop of bleach. Then let them air dry outside for a few days.

the musty smell seemed to dissipate for me.

Great to know! Thank you for your help…and posting this thread!

Just a thought - plants don't care what a pot smells like; and, if a pot gives off an unpleasant odor, there is no reason to associate it with anything harmful. Plants live in complete harmony with all types of rotting stuff and thousands of species of bacteria and fungi. We've all heard the story about native Americans placing a dead fish in the planting hole beneath seeds of corn/squash?

If the smell seems foul to the grower, that's a different story.

Speaking of dead fish, this is one of the funniest threads I've ever read on GW:

HELP! Homemade Fish Emulsion Gone Awry!

Al

Maybe the plants don't care. But I certainly do. I have a pretty sensitive sense of smell and certain odors are not something I can deal with in my home. Sure, outside is fine. But indoors, no way. I don't appreciate a musty smell on a pot nor can I tolerate the smell of fish fertilizer indoors. I can barely stand it outside!