Cleaning Silk Flowers

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)

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

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

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 Ruth

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 Dawn

Cleaning Silk Flowers

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

By Gail

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)

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.

By Cindy

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)

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)

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)