Granted, not all of us know how to keep a real life plant alive. Most of us do not even have the time to. Hence the reason why fake plants, be it plastic or silk, is the best way to have that similar effect of real flowers to spruce up your living space without the maintenance that they require.
Now, having said that, just like any other furniture or item, your fake plants need some cleaning and dusting to be done. Undoubtedly, the layer of dust on top of these fake plants will strip away their main purpose, which is to look like real ones. The best part about it though? It is very simple and easy to clean.
How to clean fake plants:
If you have freshly looked fake plants and they just have a light dusting on top, just wipe it away and make sure to do it every once a week for a real life look. On the other hand, if it is a bit more stubborn than that, you can follow the methods mentioned below to maintain and clean your fake plants.
1. Remove the first layer of dust
Take your plant outside and shake away the dust. You may also use a hair dryer set on cool and direct it towards the leaves. Doing this step should cut out a lot of effort from the following and make cleaning much easier.
2. Cleaning silk stems
Cover these individual silk flower stems with a pillowcase cover, keeping the flower first. Pour in a cup of table salt, you can also use cornmeal instead, and gently shake the pillow keeping the open end of it closed around the stems. This should allow the salt to knock off as much of the dust that is left over on the stems even after the first step. Slowly, take one of the stems out of the pillowcase, shaking it gently so that any lodged in salt falls back into the case, before completely pulling it out. Do this for all the individual stems and then rearrange it back in your vase.
3. Cleaning plastic or polyester plants
If your plants are made of plastic or polyester, you should be able to easily wash them. Run the fake leaves of the plants under a cold stream of water instead of hot to avoid any damage to the colors. If the foliage is particularly dirty, then you may add a tablespoon dish detergent to a sink full of cold water and swish it around to remove the dirt. Use the hose sprayer to hose down the flowers and to rinse away the suds. Lightly shake them to remove the water before wrapping it up in a towel to absorb all the water.
4. Cleaning Silk plants
Take note to never wash silk plants as that might ruin the color or allow for spots to develop. To start off, shake these plants with great force to try and dislodge as much of the dirt and grime possible. Then, fill up a spray bottle with dye-free rubbing alcohol along with some fragrance, and give the foliage a very generous spritz, enabling the grime and dust to slide off whilst leaving no spots due to the alcohol used. You might want to use a towel to wrap around the base in order to catch any drips. To finish, aim a hair dryer set on cool to dry the plant quickly.
Additional Tips
- Give your plastic plants a light spraying of furniture polish before quickly wiping it to keep it from losing its’ glossy finish
- By using an old toothbrush, or even the dust attachment that comes with your vacuum, you can use it to clean wicker baskets and any other container that is woven
