• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
go to homepage

Search by
Category
  • Cleaning Blog
  • Automotive
  • Bathroom Appliances and Fixtures
  • Carpets and Rugs
  • Cats
  • Closets and Organization
  • Dogs
  • Electronics
  • Fabrics
  • Floor & Carpet
  • Floors
  • Food
  • Furniture
  • General Housecleaning
  • House
  • Household Appliances and Fixtures
  • Jewelry
  • Kitchen Appliances and Fixtures
  • Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces
  • Kitchenware
  • Metals
  • Outdoors
  • Other Pets, Animals and Pests
  • People
  • Stain Removal
  • Stuff
  • Surfaces
  • Things You Own
  • Tools and Techniques
  • Walls and Ceilings
  • Windows
  • Everything Else
  • Ask us your cleaning question

go to homepage

How To Clean Stuff.net

Search by
Category
  • Cleaning Blog
  • Automotive
  • Bathroom Appliances and Fixtures
  • Carpets and Rugs
  • Cats
  • Closets and Organization
  • Dogs
  • Electronics
  • Fabrics
  • Floor & Carpet
  • Floors
  • Food
  • Furniture
  • General Housecleaning
  • House
  • Household Appliances and Fixtures
  • Jewelry
  • Kitchen Appliances and Fixtures
  • Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces
  • Kitchenware
  • Metals
  • Outdoors
  • Other Pets, Animals and Pests
  • People
  • Stain Removal
  • Stuff
  • Surfaces
  • Things You Own
  • Tools and Techniques
  • Walls and Ceilings
  • Windows
  • Everything Else
  • Ask us your cleaning question

Home / Cleaning Guides / How to Remove Christmas Tree Flocking

How to Remove Christmas Tree Flocking

Table of Contents:
  1. You Will Need
  2. Steps to Remove the Flocking
  3. Additional Tips
  4. Sources

Charles said, “I have an old, but very high quality, flocked artificial Christmas tree. I would like to remove all of the flocking. Is there anyway this can be done?”

Flocking tree-flockingis the artificial snow that is sprayed onto Christmas trees to give the effect of a white Christmas. It is often made of cellulose, however regardless of the ingredients, it is suprisingly easy to remove, often simply pulling right off with your fingers. Follow the steps below to de-flock your Christmas tree.

You Will Need:

  • A plastic drop cloth
  • A vacuum hose
  • Upholstery vacuum attachment
  • A bristle brush
  • Acetone nail polish remover
  • A cloth
  • Water
  • A lint roller

Steps to Remove the Flocking:

  1. Lay down a plastic drop cloth, tablecloth, or several cut-open trash bags under the tree so you can more easily clean up all of the flocking that falls on the ground.
  2. Use the upholstery brush attachment on a vacuum hose to remove the flocking. Always move the hose from the inside of the branch outwards (with the grain of the pine bristles).
  3. If you don’t have an upholstery attachment for the vacuum, you can use a bristle brush instead. Again, always brush with the grain of the pine bristles. Try to be gentle; only use enough pressure to remove the flocking while being cautious of the bristles.
  4. Once you have brushed off as much as you can, dampen a cloth with acetone nail polish remover. Rub the cloth over an small hidden branch to look for any adverse reaction. If safe to use on the tree, rub the cloth over all the branches to dissolve the remaining flocking.
  5. Once you have dissolved as much flocking as possible, wet a cloth with plain water and rub it over the branches to remove the acetone residue. Alternatively, you can rinse the tree with a garden hose for faster rinsing. Just be sure to use a gentle water pressure to prevent the bristles from being knocked off.
  6. Allow the tree to fully air dry, then go over each branch with a lint roller to remove any remaining pieces of flocking if necessary.

Additional Tips:

  • Be careful not to inhale the flocking as you remove it. You may want to cover your mouth and nose with a mask.
  • For trees with long bristles, using a small comb can be helpful instead of a bristle brush.
  • Another method to remove the flocking is simply to scrape it off each bristle with your fingernails. If you have several family members willing to help, consider de-flocking the tree this year together in place of stringing popcorn garlands, which is equally monotonous.
  • One of our site users (Thanks!) recommends using window cleaner to remove the flocking if it won’t come off with brushing alone.
  • If you are unable to remove the flocking and you are only trying to remove it because it has yellowed, consider spray painting it.

Sources:

  • Removing Spots and Stains by Ibert and Eleanor Mellan

Cleaning Guides

Was This Guide Helpful?

+27
-8
Rating: 78%. From 35 votes.
Please wait...

Related Posts

  • How to Remove Yellowing from a White Christmas Tree
  • How to Remove White Tree Flocking from Fabric
  • How to Remove Tree Sap from Carpet
  • How to Remove Tree Sap From Your Car
  • How to Remove Tree Sap from Clothing
  • How to Remove Tree Sap from a Wood Deck

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, conse ctetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit sed diam.


Thank you for subscribing!

Reader Interactions

About the Author

Avatar photo

Melanie

Hi! I am a seasoned writer-researcher who prides myself on quality and accuracy. I always vet my sources and test the cleaning methods I prescribe! I hope my cleaning guides can help you out! :)

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Helpful comments include feedback on the recipe or changes you made.

show comments +

Comments

  1. Art says

    November 6, 2017 at 12:25 am

    7 ft. Panel Tree

    A 55 gallon drum of Windex (just kidding, but you will go through several bottles.)
    Three bottles of Jack Daniels (for you, not the tree, optional of course 😉 )
    3 ought Steel Wool (at least two packages). The steel wool will be consumed during this process.
    Spray bottle with water
    A water hose with a high pressure spray nozzle
    Heavy duty vinyl kitchen gloves
    And about 20 years of your life 🙂

    Do not, under any circumstances, do this inside the house. The mess this is going to create is unbelievable and that’s putting it mildly. Also, wear very old clothes and eye protection might be not a bad idea, in fact, I would HIGHLY recommend it. The steel wool disintegrates during this process and it gets into everything.

    Work with the grain of the branches, DO NOT twist the branches, that will flatten/turn the bristles themselves.

    Spray the branch with Windex, and use the steel wool to rub the bristles. A panel with 20 branches takes at least 2.5-3 hours to clean.
    Use a combination of water and Windex for the cleaning process; keep the branch dripping wet. Then use the hose to rinse the branch when finished.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Featured Guides

How to Clean a Hairbrush

How to Clean a Microwave Oven With ZERO Chemicals

How to Clean Every Dental Retainer

How to Clean your Macbook’s Screen

Join our mailing list.
Be the first to know about new arrivals, sales, and special events.
Thank you for subscribing!

Footer

Browse by Category

  • Automotive
  • Clothing & Fabrics
  • Floors & Carpets
  • Housecleaning
  • Kitchen & Bath
  • Outdoors
  • People & Pets
  • Household Stuff

Contact

  • Ask Us Your Cleaning Questions
  • Contact Form

Follow us on Social Media

Site Information

  • Cookie Policy
  • Guest Post Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • XML Sitemap

Copyright © 2023 · HowToCleanStuff.net · All Rights Reserved · Website by Anchored Design