Leon wrote:

For many months now my plants have developed tiny, mostly clear
droplets, some of which seem to burst and form transparent, thin and
sticky irregular patches on the leaf.
The droplets form on the surface, underside and along the edges of a
leaf. The plants have not grown during this period and have not formed
flowers over a year. One plant has recently begun to grow a new leaf
and a new root, but the growth seems unenthusiastic. It was suggested
to me to wash the leaves with a very dilute solution of rubbing
alcohol, but does such a treatment get at the root of the problem. In
other words, how do I get my plants to grow healthily again?


Mites will usually create little dead spots in the leaf. If you were to
wash off all the droplets, are the leaves obviously damaged, or do the
leaves still look normal?
You might first try giving them a good bath. Use regular dish detergent
and soap up you hands as if you were washing your hands. Then rub every
surface of every leaf with your soapy fingers. Do a thorough job then
rinse off all the soap by running tepid tap water over the leaves and
rubbing them more until it feels like the soap is gone.
You can get rid of spider mites completely that way but Phalaenopsis
mites may or may not get washed away completely.
Even if you don't have mites (I'm not at all certain that you do) a good
washing may still help with what ever it is.

Steve