How to Maintain Your Decorative Artificial and Silk Flowers

How to Maintain Your Decorative Artificial and Silk Flowers

Flowers that have just been cut are really attractive to look at. Regardless of how dreary and shabby a room may have been prior to the addition of an arrangement of freshly cut flowers in a vase that complements them appropriately, the addition of this arrangement will bring instant color and beauty to the space. The sight of newly cut flowers displayed in an attractive vase has the ability to lift most people's spirits. 

On the other hand, there are certain people who absolutely cannot stand to be in the same room as freshly cut flowers, most likely because they have an allergy to pollen. These individuals consider artificial silk flowers to be a suitable replacement for real flowers.

When compared to purchasing freshly cut flowers, there are several advantages to choosing artificial silk flowers instead of real ones when decorating a place. As was just discussed, artificial silk flowers may bring the beauty of flowers into a room without the risk of anyone who enters the room experiencing an allergic reaction to the flowers themselves. Some people believe that artificial silk flowers are more useful because of their more realistic appearance. 

Flowers that have been freshly cut can be pricey as well as require continual upkeep, and they eventually wilt. Artificial silk flowers, on the other hand, can be purchased for a reasonable price and will continue to look beautiful for a long time to come, provided that they are well maintained. Although silk flowers made from artificial materials will never be able to match the natural beauty of fresh flowers, they are nevertheless an acceptable substitute.

Why Should You Be Concerned About Artificial Silk Flowers?

Even though silk flowers are not made from real flowers, they still require maintenance and care in order to look their best. Because they do not require their water to be changed regularly and they do not become wilted, it is quite simple to place them in a vase and then forget about them for an extended period of time. However, dust can still accumulate on imitation silk flowers over time. A layer of dust that has accumulated in the leaves and petals of artificial silk flowers will cause these flowers to lose their luster and their beautiful appearance. Dust is another common allergen that can set off allergic reactions in people. Therefore, in order to preserve the splendor of these flowers, you must ensure that they are kept clean at all times. This is the only way to ensure that their appearance is not diminished.

Maintaining the pristine appearance of your artificial silk flowers requires very little effort at all. In fact, if you give your imitation silk flowers a simple feather dusting once a week, they will continue to appear as fresh and new as the day you got them home from the shop for the very first time. You only need to give your imitation silk flowers a thorough cleaning once every three to six months if you want them to continue looking their best.

Taking Care of Synthetic Artificial Flowers

This is a step-by-step guide that will show you how to clean imitation silk flowers in the simplest way possible.

1. Remove a flower from the back of your imitation silk flower arrangement. This bloom should be difficult to miss while someone is looking at your arrangement. It is acceptable to remove just one leaf from your flower arrangement if the leaves can be removed individually.

2. Place the leaf that you have removed from the flower arrangement you are working on under running water from the faucet. After you have removed all of the dirt from the leaf, give it a good shake to remove any excess water, then examine it to see whether it is shining and to ensure that the silk has not suffered any obvious stains or abrasions. You can continue to clean the entire artificial silk flower if there are no obvious signs of damage anywhere on it.

3. Bring your flower arrangement into the kitchen or another room where you believe you can clean the flowers without making a mess or risking injury. Take your arrangement outdoors to clean it if it is too large to be cleaned in the house, such as the ones that come in floor pots.

4. Examine the insides of your artificial silk flowers to see if they are stuffed with newspaper. If this is the case, you must avoid getting them wet at all costs, or you will wind up ruining them. There are several methods available for dry-cleaning artificial silk flowers as opposed to using water.

5. Prior to submerging the entire thing in water, cover the metal container that your artificial silk flower arrangement is housed in with a sheet of plastic. This step is necessary if the container is made of copper or brass. When you are cleaning your arrangement, you need to make sure that the pot is adequately covered so that water will not enter the pot. When moisture comes into contact with metal, the metal will begin to tarnish and rust.

6. Before you put any of the flowers in water, give the flower arrangement a thorough dusting with the feathers. Because of this, the likelihood of the dust clumping together and discoloring the silk of your flowers will be greatly reduced.

7. To create little arrangements of imitation silk flowers, all you need is a spritzer or a small spray bottle, and you should make sure to properly saturate the arrangement with cold water. When you are satisfied that the arrangement is clean and free of dust, shake any remaining water from the flowers and then set them somewhere out of the way to dry entirely.

8. In order to clean large artificial silk flower arrangements that have been placed in floor pots, water them down outside while maintaining a light spray with your hose. After the leaves and flowers have been washed, shake off any excess water, and then set the entire arrangement free for some time so that it can air dry in the sunlight.

9. You should repeat this step every three to six months, on average. Dust your artificial silk flower arrangements with a feather on a regular basis in order to keep them free of dust.

Additional Methods for the Cleaning of Artificial Silk Flowers

There are several types of silk flowers that are fake and cannot be cleaned with water. If the arrangement is not too large, you can put the flowers in a paper or plastic bag, sprinkle some coarse salt on top of them, and shake the bag until the flowers are clean. The use of salt can help remove the dirt and dust that have accumulated on your imitation silk flowers. An alternative to salt is baking soda.

If your imitation silk flowers are able to handle heat, you may also keep them clean by using a hair dryer set to the lowest possible heat setting to remove any dust that has accumulated on them. You might also remove the dust by sucking it up with a vacuum cleaner. You can also get an aerosol spray cleaner that is ozone-safe and was created specifically for cleaning artificial silk flowers.