How do I clean clay garden pots which have water damage?

Try vinegar.

Hello Barbara, You could wash them in soapy water and use a nail brush etc.

Tks

What kind of water damage?

1. Step 1: Remove any loose dirt from the pot. Use your pot brush to clean as much dirt as you can off of the clay pot. ...
2. Step 2: Soak clay pots in vinegar/water solution.
3. Step 3: Run pots through the dishwasher. As a last step, try running the terracotta pots through the quick wash cycle on your dishwasher.

These are very big pots...think I will try vinegar water and a brush ?..

You could paint them or scrub them with a brush