• 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 / Clothing & Fabrics / Fabrics / How to Remove Flower Pollen from Washable Fabrics

How to Remove Flower Pollen from Washable Fabrics

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

A Vixen asked: How do I clean flower pollen off of clothes? While delivering a cut flower arrangement, the lilies brushed against my cotton shirt and left quite a bit of reddish pollen on the shirt. What would work best to clean this off?

Fresh flower-vaseflowers are beautiful to give and receive, but the pollen they hold is not always so lovely. This pollen contains natural dyes that are difficult to remove. Some pollens, such as those found in delphiniums and fuschias, are water-soluble and will easily be removed with washing. Other pollens, like those found in lilies, have pigments which are fat-soluble and will require additional methods to remove them. Without proper cleaning techniques, they will stain the fabric fibers permanently. Follow these steps to remove the pollen before you wash the shirt and set the stain.

You Will Need:

  • Tape
  • Vacuum hose
  • Cold water
  • Bucket or sink
  • OxyClean or oxygen bleach
  • Enzyme digester stain remover (Kids ‘N’ Pets, Nature’s Miracle, etc.)

Steps to Remove the Pollen:

  1. Begin by shaking out the shirt to remove as much of the loose pollen as possible.
  2. If you can’t shake it out, use a piece of tape. Gently press the adhesive side against the pollen and lift to remove. Repeat until no more pollen adheres to the tape.
  3. Another option is to use a vacuum hose. Hover the hose over the top of the pollen; do not scrape it over the area.
  4. Soak the shirt (or just the affected area) in cold water for 30 minutes. For red pollen stains, add a small amount of oxygen bleach to the water.
  5. Rinse completely with cold water.
  6. If the stain remains, repeat the soaking one additional time.
  7. After rinsing completely, treat any remaining stains with an enzyme digester stain remover, such as Kids ‘N’ Pets. Let the enzyme digester sit on the stain for at least 30 minutes, though several hours may be needed. You can cover the inside and outside of the fabric with plastic wrap to prevent the enzymes from drying out too fast if needed, just be sure to remove the plastic wrap afterward.
  8. Wash the fabric using warm to hot water, whichever the fabric can tolerate. Use your normal laundry detergent.
  9. Allow the piece to air dry to ensure there are no stains left. Once you are sure the stain is gone, it is safe to launder the piece as usual.

Additional Tips and Advice

  • Never try to brush off the pollen with your hand or a wet cloth. This will only push it further into the material fibers and possibly spread the stain.
  • Never use dish liquid to clean a pollen stain. Most dish liquids contain ammonia, which will cause the stain to set.
  • If the garment is dry clean only, have it professionally cleaned. Be sure to point out the stain ahead of time so that it can be properly treated.
  • Red pollen stains can also be blotted with 99% isopropyl alcohol (available from a pharmacist or hardware store).
  • Another alternative is to lay the garment in direct sunlight. This works as a natural bleach to remove any staining.
  • To prevent stains, cut off the anthers, which hold the pollen, as soon as the flower opens.
  • Another quick fix is to spray a small amount of hair spray on the anthers. This will hold the pollen in place and avoid it from brushing onto other surfaces. This should only be used in arrangements that will only be used for a short time (such as a corsage or wedding bouquet) as it will shorten the life of the flowers.

Sources

  • Stain Rescue! by Anne Marie Soto
  • Stain Removal by Stephanie Zia
  • The Queen of Clean’s Complete Cleaning Guide by Linda Cobb

Cleaning Guides, Fabrics, Stain Removal

Was This Guide Helpful?

+16
-2
Rating: 89%. From 18 votes.
Please wait...

Related Posts

  • How to Remove Flower Pollen from Wood
  • How to Remove Black Mold/Mildew from Washable Fabrics
  • How to Remove Pollen Stains from Carpet
  • How to Remove a Lemon Stain
  • How to Remove Paint from Polyester Fabrics
  • How to Remove a Chocolate Milk Stain from Clothing

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

Susan

I'm a stay-at-home mom who used to run a small housecleaning business. These days I consider myself more or a mad cleaning-scientist. I do most of the testing for our articles - as well as helping Mark & Melanie write them.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

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

show comments +

Comments

  1. Louise says

    October 6, 2018 at 5:44 pm

    This guide was great for clothes. How about my mantle (painted with oil base/white) which got stained as I tried to wipe off pollen from lilies? Anything would be appreciated. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Avatar photoMelanie says

      October 7, 2018 at 4:11 pm

      Louise,
      Yikes – lilies! Try the methods in the guide How to Remove Flower Pollen from Wood. The removal should be the same for a painted surface as for a finished surface. Good luck!

      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