Found out my desk plants were slowly killing my laptop

I was cleaning out my desktop tower last weekend and found a bunch of dust caked with what looked like sticky residue. Turns out my little succulent pot was leaking moisture underneath and it was getting sucked into the fan intake. Moved the plant 18 inches away and now I check the humidity around my setup with a cheap sensor. Anyone else have a plant that messed with their gear?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesroberts20d ago

That "leaking moisture" bit is what gets me - was it actually dripping or more like a slow seep through the pot? I've got a snake plant that sits on my desk but it's in a sealed ceramic pot with a tray underneath, so I thought I was safe. My concern is more about the roots growing through the drainage hole and hitting the surface underneath, not the water itself. Did you check if your succulent was actually releasing water vapor at night too, or was it just the soil staying wet for days?

lunag3020d ago

Wait, your snake plant is in a sealed pot with no drainage hole at the bottom? That's just asking for root rot, honestly. The moisture I saw was a slow seep through the terracotta pot, not dripping, but it left a dark ring on my shelf after a few days. I never checked for vapor at night, but the soil stayed damp for almost a week, which felt way too long for a succulent. The roots growing through the hole is a real issue too, I had one that pushed its way out and left little root stubs on the table under the pot. Just repot into something with a hole and a proper tray, it'll save you the headache later.

derek_perez20d ago

@jamesroberts snake plants actually release water vapor at night, that's the CAM photosynthesis thing.