Question
I bought a Phal orchid about a month ago. It's in bark. I've been watering with filtered, room-temperature water once a week, letting it drain out of the bottom-- 3 out of every 4 weeks I've been using a very diluted orchid fertilizer. The temperature has been between 65-85 degrees by an open window. It's off to the side of a window with southwest sun. I've had two buds that have turned brown/dried up. The flowers that were facing the window have dried up, one of which was a new bloom. This is my first orchid. Please help!

Answer
Thanks for bringing this to my attention LeeAnn.  I assume that your plant was in flower when you purchased the plant. Phal orchid flowers normally last 4-6 weeks so, as far as the flowers fading, it may have just been at the end of their lifespan.  Bud drop is another matter. Buds may drop when certain conditions of temperature and/or humidity change (eg your conditions may be different than at the place you purchased it). The good news is that new buds may yet form on the flower spike-- so be patient.  Another, less auspicious condition, is that the orchid mix may have been in degraded condition when you bought the plant. Even fir bark can deteriorate over time.  Even before you purchased the plant, some of the orchid roots may have started to collapse from the condition of the potting mix in the root zone. If the plant was potted in straight fir bark (eg no perlite, or other ingredients), it may be difficult to keep the potting mix sufficiently wet.  Since with one condition, your watering schedule keeps the mix too wet and the other condition, keeps it too dry, I recommend that you repot your plant using a commercial grade of orchid potting mix that is fir bark based. By unpotting your plant prior to repotting it in fresh orchid potting mix, you can check the root condition.  If any roots have collapsed, this results in insufficient nutrients getting to the buds-- hence bud drop.  If the fir bark chunks are quite large (eg an inch or larger), the roots may be fine (perhaps a bit dried out) and, again, repot with the fresh standard fir-bark based potting mix.  

I find no problem with your watering and feeding schedule, growing location, etc, so I feel the problem may be at the root level. Remove any mushy roots before repotting. Resume your growing conditions after the fresh repot. I generally recommend that the new potting mix be soaked for at least 15 minutes before use because dry fir bark is water repellant.  Soaking the mix helps to break down the water repellency prior to use.