If 
you don’t have a green thumb, fake plants are the perfect way to add a nice decorative touch to any room. However, these plants can quickly collect dust and lose their “real” look. Clean your fake plants quickly and easily with these steps to keep them looking their best.
How to Clean Silk Plants
Silk plants should not get wet, as it can damage them. This method removes the debris without cleaning the plants with water. This will also work well for other fabric plants, such as polyester.
You Will Need:
- Bag large enough to hold the silk plants
- Salt
- Nylon pantyhose
- Vacuum cleaner with attachments
Steps to Clean Silk Plants:
- Fill the bag with salt. The amount of salt will depend on the size and the amount of buildup on the plant. You will need enough to cover the surface areas of the plant that are unclean.
- Place the plant in the bag with the salt.
- Shake the bag around. As you are shaking, the salt will adhere to the sticky surfaces.
- Remove the plant and allow the salt to absorb the debris on the surface for about an hour.
- Cover the attachment of a vacuum with nylon pantyhose. Secure it so the hose is stretched tightly over the end.
- Use the vacuum to remove the dried salt from the plant. With the salt, the debris on the plants will be removed as well.
- Repeat as needed until the plant is clean.
How to Clean Plastic Plants
Plastic plants are more durable and are able to get wet. This makes them easier to clean even if they cannot be removed from their container.
You Will Need:
- Sink, tub or bucket
- Water
- Mild detergent (optional)
- Soft cloths
- Towels
Steps to Clean Plastic Plants:
- If the plant cannot be removed from its container and the container cannot get wet too, put the container in a trash bag and tie the bag around the base of the plant with a string.
- Begin by filling a sink, tub or bucket with warm water.
- If the plants are especially dirty, add a small amount of a mild detergent like dish liquid.
- Move the plants around in the water to remove the dust and dirt.
- Use a soft cloth to clean any stubborn areas with extra buildup.
- Rinse under clean water.
- Set in the sun to dry.
Additional Tips and Advice
- To prevent sticky buildup on fake plants, use a blow dryer to blow away dirt and debris weekly. Use a low, heat-free setting.
- If a shower or kitchen spray nozzle is available, they can work well for quick cleanings for plastic plants. Simply spray the plant clean and allow it to dry.
- If you want to polish plastic plants to make them shiny, put a couple drops of olive oil on a soft cloth and rub the cloth over the plant repeatedly. Rotate the cloth to a dry area and rub the plant again to fully remove all excess oil.
You can ‘dust’ fake plants with a can of compressed air, the kind you use to clean out a computer. The long tube on the can lets you dust hard to reach parts of flower arrangements without disarranging the flowers.
If you have plastic or cheap cloth flowers (don’t try it with silk!), use the washing machine to clean them when they get dingy. Put the flowers into a pillow case, fold the open top of the case over like you were folding a bag closed and use safety pins to keep it shut, then wash in cold water on gentle with no detergent. Air dry the flowers upright in a vase, and reshape them if needed while they’re still wet.
I’ve tried it all, and the best and easiest way, although not the cheapest, is to get a can of silk flower cleaner. You just spray it on and the dust disappears.
If your fake plants or flowers have paper-wrapped stems, you absolutely can’t clean them with anything liquid. Period. Ever.
Ditto for plastic or cloth flowers that have been painted to make them look prettier. Brush the dust off with something soft, like a makeup brush, and try to put the arrangement someplace where it won’t get too dirty.
I had a neighbor who used to do this to clean fake flowers. Put equal amounts of cornmeal and salt, say half a cup or so each, into a bag, put the flowers in the bag, and then shake the bag gently for a couple of minutes. Supposedly this gets off all the dust and won’t damage expensive silk flowers.
Dad once threw our old fake Christmas tree in the back of his truck and then went through the local car wash with it. It was weird, and the tree lost some plastic needles, but it was a lot cleaner!
Spray leaves with Lysol ’til wet. Let dry–dust gone!
For cheap fake silk plants, place them in the top rack of the dishwasher and run it on a quick cycle. Don’t use a heated dry cycle. Silk looked great!
If you have plants with dust or dirt on them, just take them outside and spray gently with a hose. Then, just lay them out in the sun to dry. It will soon have a silky feeling and a shiny look! 🙂
Take your plants in the bathroom when you take a hot shower; the steam will either sweat off the dust or loosen it up and it will wipe right off.
The dishwasher on the quick wash cycle first for a couple of minutes using a small amount of detergent, stop the cycle and then a rinse only cycle is working great for me! No heat, no heated dry, shaking them outside to get the extra water off.
Leaf curl on a silk plant/tree left outside over night? Help.
How do you clean paper flowers?
Roberta,
Cleaning a paper lampshade should be similar to paper flowers, so you can try the ideas in the guide How to Clean a Paper Lampshade.
Any suggestions for a plastic plant that is glued into a basket? The basket pretty much rules out the dishwasher, shower/tub ideas. It’s pretty grimy, not just loose dust. Thanks!
Marianne,
You could try tying a trash bag around the basket. That way the plant can be washed in the shower, but the basket won’t get wet. Alternatively, you can try just washing the basket as well. See the guide How to Clean and Care for Rattan Furniture for specific tips. Use soap (mild detergent) to help with the grime, such as a grease-fighting dish liquid, a mild laundry detergent, or even some baby shampoo.