How to clean silk flowers?

Silk flowers are beautiful and practical. While they don't require the care that living plants will need, such as watering and pruning, they still require regular cleaning to look their best. The tips below can help you clean them up.

1. Dust your flowers weekly. Move in light back-and-forth motions over the areas where dust commonly accumulates. Weekly dustings will remove a little dust and keep your flowers cleaner between deep cleanings. As an alternative to a feather duster, you could use:

• A microfiber cloth.
• A hair dryer set to a low heat.
• A vacuum cleaner with an old stocking secured over the hose by a rubber band. If possible, set the vacuum cleaner to its lowest setting.

2. Use a silk flower cleaning spray. Mist the flowers lightly. No wiping is required. You can buy the spray at major department stores like Target.

• Cleaning sprays can be quite effective, but they are generally very expensive.

3. Shake the flowers in a bag of salt. Place the flowers in a plastic resealable bag along with a few spoonfuls of coarse salt. Shake the bag gently for one minute. The grains of salt will act as mild abrasives, gently loosening dust and grime. When you're done, remove the flowers from the bag and shake off the remaining salt.

• As an alternative to salt, you could use two to three tablespoons of cornmeal. Follow the same directions for the salt method.

4. Spray a mixture of vinegar and water. If you think your flowers can safely withstand a little moisture, fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and distilled vinegar. Mist the flowers very lightly with the mixture and allow them to air dry. You may want to place a towel under the flowers to absorb any drips.

5. Use soap and water. Fill your sink with room temperature water and add a few drops of dish soap. Gently swish each flower around in the water, rubbing lightly to remove any stubborn grime. Immediately take the flower out of the water and blot the entire piece dry with a clean towel.

• Use caution when drying the flowers, as the towel can loosen individual parts of each flower.
• Don’t soak your flowers if they’re hand wrapped. Soaking erodes the glue and weakens the floral tape.