Buying a Replacement Aerogarden Arm

My two black Aerogarden units are now a few years old. One of the things I noticed about them is that on the arm, crud is forming on the metal contacts that connect them to the pump on the base.

Crud, of course is the technical term for oxidation. Copper oxide is formed when oxygen molecules and copper interact. I tried scraping it off, and using all kinds of abrasive tools, which just resulted in me ruining the arm by bending the metal contacts.

After a little research on the Web, I learned (a bit too late of course) that there are proper ways to clean oxidation when it happens and to prevent oxidation from happening in the first place.

To clean oxidation, you just need a solution of baking soda and warm water to make a paste. Cover the oxidized contacts, wipe it off after a while, and then polish with a wire brush.

To prevent it, you just need to coat the terminals with Vaseline.

Of course, it's too late for me, but luckily, on Aerogrow's site, they have replacement arms for a reasonable price. A less well-engineered system would have had you throwing away the whole thing, but with Aerogardens, you can replace any of these pieces:



To buy a replacement arm, just go to The AeroGarden Store. You can get the arm in the color of your Aerogarden unit, whether Black, Silver, or White (unfortunately Aerogarden seems to have removed these from their catalog, but it's still worth contacting their customer service if you need one.