How to Care for Your Silk Flowers

Love the idea of silk flowers for your wedding to keep for ever, but not too sure about dust and creepy crawlies?  This blog will give you some (astonishing!) tips about how to care for your beautiful silk flowers.

First of all, like any housework, keeping your flowers dust free is better done regularly (if not every day) and that way it’s quick and easy.  Plus they will last for years.

Take them outside and give them a shake upside down. Brush with a clean make up brush or any soft brush.  (I use a computer keyboard brush) You can also use a soft hand towel to wipe them down – this is particularly handy on big leafy stems.

Not too keen on touching the flowers in case you damage them?  Actually, they are surprisingly robust, so be gentle and they’ll stay gorgeous!

Washing

I kid you not.  You can actually dunk your silk flower in warm soapy water, shush it around a bit, then rinse in cold water and dry on a soft towel or cloth.  Depending on the flower and how tight the petals are, drying is pretty quick.  (Not a good idea for bouquets, though.  See below for how to clean these)

Some sites suggest you can use a hairdryer on a cool setting to dry them.  I haven’t tried this (don’t have a hairdryer), but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work so long as you keep the heat at its lowest and don’t hold the dryer too close – you don’t want scorching or bits curling up and falling off because the glue has melted!

Spray Cleaners

You can buy spray cleaners for silk flowers, and I have tried the water based spray from Bloom.  Shake and brush off any loose dust with your soft brush, then spray 12 inches from the flowers.  The result is brighter, fresh looking flowers.  There are, of course, several different brands, with different prices, but this one appealed to me as it was actually invented by a florist. (I’m not affiliated to them, by the way. My comments are based on my own experience of the product)

Spray cleaners are particularly useful for bouquets.  You don’t want to have to break up your beautiful bridal bouquet, and dunking the whole thing in water is not sensible.  So brush the loose dust off first, give it a shake upside down to dislodge anything lurking in the depths, then use your spray.

Compressed air

Great for getting into crevices and simply blowing off dust.  Bear in mind that silk flowers can be damaged if you’re too harsh in how you treat them.  So don’t shoot the compressed air too close.

Vacuum cleaners

Seriously?  Not something I would do as my vacuum cleaner sucks up everything with enthusiasm – and my precious flowers would vanish into the murky depths of the waste bin!  But how about the dinky vacuums you can get for computer keyboards? Not sure I would buy one specially, but if you happen to have one already, use the soft brush attachment and take care.  Be aware that silk hydrangeas and gypsophila are particularly delicate and can be sucked off their stems easily.  You can glue them back on …. But do you really want to have to do that?  Erm… no.

The slightly weird and wonderful…..

Here are some tips that I’ve discovered (but not tried!)

• Use your soft hand shower with luke warm water to wash and freshen your flowers. No soap needed.
• Make your own spray of 50% white vinegar and 50% water
• Shake your flowers in a plastic bag with a few teaspoons of salt or dried rice
• Add a couple of tablespoons of dried cornmeal to a plastic bag, pop in your flowers and shake. You may need to do a bit of brushing and tapping afterwards to get rid of any bits of trapped cornmeal. (Hmm… not sure I would do this one!)

So there you have it.  Care for your silk flowers and they will fill your home with loveliness for years. (I have silk arrangements all over the place in my home.  Love them!)

By the way – 

Ready to choose your wedding flowers?  I would love to hear from you!

Email me at sue@maldenandwilde.com  and let’s have a friendly chat (no hard sell – promise!) about turning your vision into reality!