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Cleaning Silk Flowers

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Date: 02/01/2009 Topic: Cleaning > Miscellaneous  
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How do you clean silk flowers? I have loads of them and they collect dust.

Mary from Newark, California
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By Tori1256 (1) Contact
put them in a bag with a cup of salt

shake gently remove from bag and shake off any loose salt

you can keep the bag of salt and use it a couple of times

Posted on 02/10/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

By T&T Grandma (295) Profile Contact
Swishing in the bathtub or take them in the shower. I clean lots of stuff in the shower! If it is smaller items, take a plastic bag, toss in some corn starch, toss in the flowers, and shake. Then shake excess off.
I often do the 'grab the stems and shake with a snap' theory. If a flower head falls off, pop it back in place. Artificial flowers are meant for more abuse than fresh flowers.
I also take my silks I just don't want to see anymore and use them in the wreaths I make up to put on family grave sites. I have made some beautiful ones. We change them out with seasons, givng me chance to have different ones in the house without feeling bad about discarding any.
Another place to use 'done with it silks' is my gardens outside. Tuck a few here and there in my just starting gardens and you can't tell they are not real. Looks good into the fall! Alot are sun resistant too.

Posted on 02/03/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

By evie5200 (11) Contact
I blow off the dust with my hair blow dryer. Do this about
once a month, or whenever you're dusting.

Posted on 02/03/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

By chriself (83) Contact
Be careful when using water on silks. I've had some colors of flowers run. I use the compressed air and only use water if it is an older arrangement that I am willing to risk the color running.

Posted on 02/02/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

By Michelle (Guest Post)
In the floral aisle at Wal-mart they sell a can of flower cleaner. I don't know what's in it, but it dissolves the dust away. The cans are usually sort of hidden either on the very bottom or very top shelf.

Posted on 02/01/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

By Mary T (78) Contact
If you're not trying to completely clean them, and just want to get the dust bunnies off on a regular basis, try one of those cans of compressed air that you can buy for cleaning computers etc.

Posted on 02/01/2009 | Report Spam or Abuse

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Request: Cleaning Silk Flowers

Archived on 02/01/2009

I have several silk flower arrangements that have "dust bunnies" growing on them. What is the best way to clean these? Some are arranged in "swags" and I cannot figure out how to get the dust off!

TIA!
Cookiepom

Answers:

Clean Silk Flowers

Make your silk flowers think Spring. Place the silk flowers into a large bag and pour in one cup of Morton's Salt. Shake vigorously. Remove. And voilà Your flowers are clean. By MrsMoted2 (05/19/2005)

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

I've heard of using raw rice before, never salt. Whatever works or whatever you happen to have on hand. (05/20/2005)

By badwater

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

This has worked for me for years.

I turn the arrangement on an angle over the kitchen sink and using the pull out faucet, spray them with water from the faucet. Shake it good. You can lay it on the side in a dish drainer to drain further for awhile.

The larger tree type silk plants. Take them outside and spray with the garden hose and let dry outside on a warm sunny day. (05/20/2005)

By Syd

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

Make sure of the type of floral material before using anything gritty or grainy. Many floral arrangements these days are created with latex or poly flowers. In these cases, each petal and leaf should be cleaned individually. I use a very mild solution of CLEAR dish washing liquid and water applied with cotton balls.

If the arrangement is a Water Illusion, the 'acrylic water' can be cleaned with the same solution, but must be 'rinsed' with plain water, and dried, or it will film over. I simply use more cotton balls to do this.

If the florals are arranged in river rocks or tiny stones, they can be removed, rinsed in a stainer and replaced without disturbing the design. The florals will actually be set in foam or clay beneath the rocks.

The process is time consuming, but well worth it for these delicate florals. (05/20/2005)

By Gail C

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

Salt does work for me. You can clean artificial flowers and, the best way to do that is to put them in a bag with salt. The salt picks up the dust almost like a magnet and takes it off the artificial flowers. Also saves on soap and water as well as not throwing them away and spending more money.

http://www.frugalforlife.com (09/11/2005)

By FFL

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

Place in dishwasher and run through economy wash cycle. Works Great. (09/12/2005)

By Gail

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

I use canned air on my silk flowers - just be sure to keep a safe distance from the arrangement so you don't blow it apart! (09/13/2005)

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

I was just watching "How Clean is your House?" late last night on TV and they were cleaning silk flowers. She swished them in to a tub filled with warm water and bubble bath and then rinsed them in another tub filled with warm water and a little fabric softener. She said that made them clean AND smell good. (09/13/2005)

By Cindy S.

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

You can also clean your silk flowers by using a cheap hair spray. We had a fire in my home several years ago and the restoration women used a can of hair spray. I was amazed at how clean the flowers became (09/19/2005)

Cleaning Silk Flowers

As a former floral designer, I clean my dusty silk plants by simply hosing them off outside and laying them on their sides or upside down to dry in the sun. Bring them in when dry, tweak a few stems and they'll be good as new. By Linda (09/22/2005)

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

When you need to wash dusty silk flowers or greenery, don't forget about the top rack of your dish washer. It does a great job on a short cycle, with no heat dry cycle. By Pandabear (09/22/2005)

RE: Cleaning Silk Flowers

You can also run your bathtub full of hot soapy water & just toss in the greenery. Let them sit for an hour or so, submerged in the water. Drain the tub & rinse with cold water. Take outside, shake off excess water & let them air dry. They're good as new, again! FrugalFriend (09/22/2005)

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