Explanation for Spotting on Leaves?

[Jello-mix]

Hi, I've had my Phalaenopsis Orchid for a year and a half now. Over the summer, all the flowers wilted (with the stem soon afterwards) so now the plant is in some sort of dormant state. This is not the problem, since I'm pretty sure it's still alive and growing a new stem...

I'm more worried over the recent black/white patches on the leaves. They first appeared about 2 months ago... around the time when I moved into my university dorm, thus I initially thought it was due to the harder water quality here. I've tried watering it with tap water, filtered water, distilled water and now I'm down to the water from water bottles (sigh, just when I decided to boycott plastic bottles!). I used bottled water for my plant during the summer, back when it was healthy, and I think the growth of these patches has slowed down but the problem hasn't really been solved!

I've included photos...
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Can anyone confirm the cause of these patches? And what to do from here?
It would be much appreciated!

[SamIAm]

Hello Jello-mix,

What you are dealing with is a sunburnt leaf (leaves)...Phals like bright, indirect lighting...no full sun. Early morning sun is okay as well as late sunset sun. NO midday sun, it is too hot. The good news is your phal can recover, given good culture. Another option is to use a sheer curtain to diffuse the intensity, if you are a windowsill grower.

[Jello-mix]

Hmm, I didn't really consider sunburn as a possibility. I have my window blinds 1/3 open most of the time but maybe that's still too much sun...

I'll move the plant further away from the window for now and get some sheer curtains soon! Thanks for the tip

[-k-]

Btw... regular tap water should be fine; bottled watercan get expensive, however as it's the choice of the grower either will work!

[Jello-mix]

Ahahah, alright I suppose I'll step back from bottled water then.

How long do sunburns usually last? It probably depends on the severity... but I mean, should one worry if the white patches are still there a few months later... or even a year?

[-k-]

The sunburn portion will remain for the remainder of the leaf's life cycle. . .

[vanda_obsession]

def sunburn! I'm bad about letting some of my 'chids get burned. The leaf will look that way until it eventually goes through its life cycle and falls off. I use regular tap water but most times will try to pour some into my sprayer and let it sit (without the pump in it) for a night so some of the chlorine will come out of it.