Chlorine, fluoride, or salt sensitivity
Brown tips on a Peace Lily watered with tap water are very often a reaction to the chemicals in it.
Diagnosis
Chlorine, fluoride, or salt sensitivity
What's happening
Peace Lily is unusually sensitive to the chlorine, chloramine, fluoride, and dissolved salts in treated tap water. These build up in the leaf tips — the end of the line for the plant's plumbing — and scorch the tissue brown, usually as a thin dark margin or dead tip.
How to fix it
Switch to filtered, distilled, or rainwater, or leave tap water out uncovered overnight so some chlorine can off-gas (note this won't remove fluoride). Every month or two, flush the pot by running plenty of clean water through the soil to wash out accumulated salts. Trim the browned tips with clean scissors following the leaf's natural shape; existing damage won't heal, but new growth should come in clean.
What fixes it
- A soil moisture meter — A moisture meter helps you water consistently with filtered water instead of over-flushing tap water through.
If that doesn't fix it
This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.
Read the full Peace Lily care guide →
Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this