I decorate with a lot of dried flower arrangements and sometimes I use silks with them. After time they become dusty and fragile. I then buy the cheapest bath tub cleaner at the dollar store (ex. scrubbing bubbles or anything that foams and that will stay on the arrangement).
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If you have silk flowers that have gotten a bit dusty, you can put them in a bag with a handful or two of cornmeal, and shake the closed bag around for a bit. When you remove the flowers, the dust will be gone.
Now some of you may get a real chuckle out of this, but believe me it works so well. I have a lot of silk flower swags and silk flower wreaths.
Clean your silk flowers and greenery with diluted Murphy's Oil Soap! I was cleaning some furniture this week with the diluted mixture in a spray bottle and saw a basket of silk greenery that was dusty and needed a good cleaning.
I discovered something a few months ago while doing the weekly cleaning. I love silk plants, but hate the dust they collect.
Refurbishing A Silk Flower Swag. I have an expensive silk flower swag that I had made for my bedroom almost 10 years ago. The greenery on it was looking pretty sad and had lots of dust on it.
Dust your silk or dried flowers arrangement with a blowdryer set on low. Best done outside.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I don't understand what ya'll are saying about using salt to clean artificial plants.
By Angie
This is when you have silk flowers that are dusty and need cleaning. Not good for an arrangement because it will come apart, it is mostly for something like single stems or say a small stalk of greenery.
First: get a paper bag big enough to hold the arrangement. Second: add in about a cup to a cup and a half of salt (depending on the size of the arrangement). Third: place the arrangement into the bag keeping the container or excess stalk out.
Fourth: tighten the bag around the stem by wrapping and twisting it, and secure it with some tape or tie a string around it. Fifth: shake the bag vigorously, this could take a few minutes depending on the amount of dust.
Sixth: untie or remove tape from the bag and slightly shake the arrangement as you remove it from the bag, this is to shake off any salt that may be down in between the leaves or petals.
Now you are done. This should have removed the dust and is so easy. Here is another tip, you can close the bag up tightly and reuse it on other arrangements or have it on hand for next time. I hope this has helped explain this process for you, I kind of thought it was crazy when I first heard about it too. I kept trying to figure out if you just rubbed salt on the plant or used salt water or what?
Does anyone have any good tips on dusting silk trees? I have a silk fica tree and I'm dusting one leaf at a time.
Thanks,
Diana
I've heard people use blow dryers but I think I would try taking it outside and gently wash with the hose on fine spray. A few minutes in the sun would dry it.
I have set silk plants in the shower and give them a light shower. It works.
I "dust" silk flowers and lampshades with my husband's air compressor. In other words, just blow the dust away. No water needed. If you don't have the use of an air compressor, you might be able to use the canned air that is used to blow out the dust from keyboards, etc. Sold where office supplies are sold.
I rinse all my silk plants outside with the hose, then invert them to letr them dry(so water doesn't pool in the containers) Easy to tweak them back into shape!
Diana ,Also you could take it outside and use the reverse on your vacuum cleaner/shop vac. I take my silk flowers/trees outside and swish the small ones in a tub of warm water with a capful of Amway's LOC or dishwashing liquid. Rinse and let air dry.If the dust is light just blow it away. But if it is heavy/greasy then you'll have to wash them.They come out nice as new. GG Vi.
cover the base/container with a garbage bag and tape tight around trunk then wash with hose and let the sun dry
Where can I find silk plant cleaner for indoor silk plants?
By AURORA KERLEY from Anaheim
Most any craft store. A frugal tip I read was to place them in a paper bag, add some table salt and rice or cornmeal and shake the bag. Hope this helps until you find the cleaner.
They usually sell it at the craft stores or Walmart where they also sell the silk plants! Also, you can use canned air (like for computers & cameras) then spray with dollar store hairspray then if you like, you can wipe the hairspray back off with a paper towel. This cleans off the dust & gunk! I've used hairspray lots of times & it has always worked for me!
* I have also heard of the paper bag & salt idea like the previous person wrote. The salt & bag idea is especially good for silk flowers. The hairspray works great for dried-natural flowers, twigs & leaves.
Have you tried using a can of compressed air? It's available at office supply stores (maybe Wal-mart, too). It's good for cleaning other things as well, i.e., computer keyboards, anywhere that gets dusty and is hard to reach - hope this helps - it may be worth a try!
I plan on buying a cotton wreath, but how do I keep it clean? I thought of using a portable vacuum and with the hose attachment just vacuum each cotton flower.
Any other ideas? It will be inside and hanging on a wall.
I would use a feather duster.
If you are very gentle, you can get dust off by putting an old pantyhose leg or knee high on the suction end of a dust buster or shark vacuum then don't press on the bolls, but wand over the wreath. It isn't perfect, and it won't get dirt off if it gets actual dirt, but it will freshen it and get the dust out. A regular vacuum is too much suction, which is why I recommend the hand held kind.
have you considered keeping it all inside a glass enclosure or shadow box? Not only will it be close to impossible to keep clean but it will become brittle and possibly fall apart
I have some beautiful longstem and 5 inch Victorian silk flowers. I've had them for a long time and they're not only beautiful to look at, but they are soft to the touch also. Well, they used to be! They looked so dusty that without thinking I took them to the kitchen sink and pulled out my sprayer and sprayed them with some warm water.
Aaahhh! Too late. I just hung them upside down and hoped for the best. They look fine, but now they are not soft anymore. They feel cheaper and a little stiff and crunchy. Did I ruin them forever? Is there anything I can do to bring back the softness?By Barb
How many people are going to be touching them to know that they are not soft anymore?? If they look ok, I would let them be. All I can think of is you may try spritzing some diluted fabric softener on them, but I would test it first where it would not show.
How do I clean silk and latex flowers in awkward, high places without removing them from the wall?
By Cindy L
Try a feather duster on a long handle that extends.
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How do you clean silk flowers? I have loads of them and they collect dust.
How do you clean silk flowers? I have loads of them and they collect dust.
