16 Smart Ways To Clean And Revive Rumpled Faux Flowers

Whether you've just bought new faux flowers or you're grabbing some you've stored, discovering that they've become wrinkled, crushed, or dingy can be discouraging. Sometimes the silk, fabric, or plastic leaves and petals can become smooshed by being packaged tightly and wrinkled and dusty while sitting in storage or on display, making it very apparent that your florals are fake. Luckily, there are tons of quick and simple ways to make your decorative fake flowers seem real. By cleaning and uncrumpling the petals and leaves of your faux florals, you can restore their beauty and keep your home looking fresh.

Depending on what material your flowers are made from, some cleaning and unwrinkling methods may work better than others. With very delicate fabrics, such as silk, you'll need to be careful and ensure your cleaner won't cause any damage to the petals and leaves. Whether your flowers just need a quick reshaping or a deep clean and stain removal, these tips will help your faux florals look lively.

Fake flowers that are really smooshed can be opened up again with a handheld steamer. Steaming is a great option for silk flowers, as it doesn't make them very wet, as well as other types of fabric, though it shouldn't be used for plastic florals. Hot steam will also aid in loosening any dust and dirt stuck to your decor, which cleans and uncrumples the petals and leaves at the same time. This method works great for bulky flowers like roses and peonies, but should help any faux flowers that need to open up again.

After filling your steamer with water, turn it on a low setting and begin rotating your faux flowers in and out of the steam. If the steam isn't quite hot enough to pull out wrinkles, you can turn up the temperature as needed. The center of your flower should face the steam, allowing it to get in between the petals. Quickly applying a little steam to the back of the leaves and petals can also help rid them of any wrinkles. For those who don't have a handheld steamer, try holding your flowers over a pot of boiling water. This quick trick will enhance the look of your faux flowers in a matter of seconds.

Surprisingly, hair dryers are a fantastic tool for reviving your rumpled flowers and can help them spread their petals quickly. Similar to the steam method, the air will fluff and separate the flower petals, and the heat should help to remove wrinkles. Within a few seconds, your faux flower will look like it has blossomed, leaving you with gorgeous, realistic decor.

Make sure to start with your hair dryer on a low heat setting and to keep the hot air moving. This will prevent the artificial materials from becoming too hot, which may damage the flower or pose a fire risk. Depending on your specific hair dryer, you may need to use a medium heat setting to remove stubborn wrinkles. Hold your blow dryer directed towards the opening of your flower, swirling the air around the petals so that they're heated evenly, until it's regained its shape.

To clean and revive your crumpled flowers simultaneously, try giving them a quick plunge into a bowl of hot water with a little dish soap. While the soap will get rid of most of the dirt and dust on your decorations, the hot water and steam will eliminate wrinkles and soften the material, opening your flowers. This is a great revival method for many fabric flowers, but if you have silk florals, dyed flowers, or plastic blooms, you'll want to skip this trick, as the hot water can damage the material.

Once you've added boiling water and a few drops of soap to your bowl, quickly dunk your flower petals into the solution, moving them up and down several times for a few seconds. Shake the excess water off and set your faux florals aside to dry. Be aware that some lower quality flowers may seep color out of the fabric and into the water. Because of this, you'll want to use separate bowls for flowers of different colors. If your soap leaves a residue on your flowers, give them a quick rinse in warm, clean water.

If your flowers have extremely wrinkled, bent, or folded leaves, this trick will give you the most stunning faux bouquets by flattening those disfigured leaves. This is a super fast and simple way to make your fake floral arrangements look more realistic, though you may still need to use another method to revive the flower petals. To make this method even easier, try disassembling your faux florals, taking off the leaves. This will allow you to lay them totally flat while ironing, rather than having to work around the flower and stem.

To ensure you won't cause heat damage to your leaves, turn your iron onto a very low setting. Placing the faux plants inside a dish towel will also help to protect them. Carefully move your iron over the leaves, smoothing out any folds and correcting the shape. Using just the tip of the iron can also help to straighten your faux foliage.

For those who need to fluff a bunch of flowers, steaming or blow drying each one individually can take a lot of time. Rather than opening and reshaping your flowers one by one, tossing them all into the dryer together for a few minutes will give them a quick transformation. The hot air from your dryer combined with the tumbling motion should give new life to your crushed, wrinkled flowers. As with other heat methods, be careful with plastic flowers that they do not melt.

Start by placing all of your faux flowers in the dryer drum. Use a medium to high heat setting for approximately two minutes to breathe new life into your floral decor. Always start with a lower setting, then work your way up to a hotter temperature if the first attempt is unsuccessful.

Fluffing your petals manually is a wonderful option for more delicate materials if you're concerned your flowers could be easily damaged by moisture or heat. This could also be a good first attempt to revive your flowers before moving onto other methods. While it likely won't tackle stubborn wrinkles, you should be able to fluff and open your flowers by hand to give them a beautiful look. Taking the time to spread each petal and adjust your flowers helps them to appear more realistic without having to use steam or hot air, as long as you know how to handle your flowers with care.

Gently push open each petal of your crushed flower to spread them out, moving them away from the middle. Work around your flower, adjusting the petals and creating more space between them. Manually blowing a little air toward the center of the flower may also separate the petals. Be careful not to bend petals or leaves in the direction that they do not naturally go, as this can cause creasing.

Because they're easy to forget about, artificial flowers may be the unexpected place to clean with a Swiffer that you might be missing. As your artificial plants and flowers sit and decorate your home, dirt and dust will accumulate on their surfaces. Over time, dust makes your flowers appear dingy or dull, and giving them a quick clean with a microfiber cloth or a duster pad will revive them quickly. Though dusters will work well and remove debris from your flowers, microfiber cloths are a great option because of their ability to lock in the dust, ensuring it doesn't end up in other areas.

Simply wipe your microfiber cloth over the leaves and petals of your faux plant, gathering dirt and dust as you go. Try to maneuver your rag to get into the small creases in the material. With dusters, be gentle so that you don't bend or wrinkle your flowers.

For artificial floral arrangements that have become extremely grimy over time or that you purchased second hand, washing them in soap and water will eliminate any dirt and cleanse your flowers. Depending on the material you're working with, you might let your flowers soak in the water for about five minutes, give them a gentle rinse, or you may only want to wipe the leaves and petals with your cleaning solution. A quick wipe down with a damp, slightly soapy rag is the best option for silk or other materials that don't handle water well.

To wash more durable flowers, add them into your sink with warm water and some dish soap. Lightly stir them with your hand before leaving them to soak for several minutes. Remove them from the soapy water and lightly rub off any remaining dirt as you rinse them with clean water. Alternatively, you might dip more delicate flowers into water with a few drops of soap, followed by a quick plunge in clean water. Once you've washed or wiped down your flowers, set them out to air dry.

To avoid cleaning your faux florals with water or steam, you might consider a kitchen ingredient that will make old fake flowers look brand new. Surprisingly, salt can help to clean dirt from your flowers without exposing them to moisture. Because it is a little abrasive, salt will rub the dirt off your faux petals, leaves, and stems in no time. By simply shaking the fake flowers with a little salt from your kitchen, you'll remove the dirt and have cleaner home decor.

Add about ½ cup of salt to a resealable plastic bag, a garbage bag, or even a pillowcase. Once you've placed your florals inside, carefully shake the bag to move the salt around and clean your flowers. A container with a tight-fitting lid would also work. Some salt could end up sticking to your floral arrangements, but shaking the flowers off outside or wiping away the salt should leave your flowers clean and beautiful.

If you're having trouble getting dust out of the small cracks and crevices in your artificial flowers with a cloth or duster, a paintbrush could be the solution. The fine bristles of the paintbrush can reach into the tiniest creases in your faux florals and swipe away every speck of dust, making this a great method for extremely intricate decorations. A paintbrush could also be helpful in a pinch if you're out of dusters and your cleaning cloths are in the wash.

Take your paintbrush and begin moving it back and forth over the petals, leaves, and stem of your flower to knock off the dust. Begin dusting the top of your floral arrangement and work downwards to prevent any dust from falling onto areas you've already cleaned. Because paintbrushes aren't designed for dusting, they won't trap the dust. To keep dust from getting all over your home, take your faux flowers outside before cleaning them with a paintbrush.

Flowers that have become very dirty or stained may require a deeper clean than just dusting or a little soap and water. Luckily, vinegar works as a mild disinfectant due to its acetic acid, can tackle grease, and is commonly used to remove stains from laundry. Because of these traits, vinegar should be able to cleanse the fabric of your flowers and eliminate any pesky stains. While this method is great for plastic flowers and some fabrics, it may be too tough for delicate materials like silk.

To cleanse your flowers or treat stains, combine one part white vinegar with one part water. To give your faux arrangement a nice scent, put a few drops of lemon juice into your solution as well. Dampen a sponge or microfiber cloth with your vinegar and gently wipe the petals and leaves of your faux plants. Gently blot stained areas to treat them, and soon your fake florals will be clean and bright.

For those who are still struggling to remove all the dust from their faux flowers manually, a can of compressed air could save the day. With a can of air, you can quickly blow the dust right out of your flowers' nooks and crannies. This will efficiently remove dust and dirt from the material without harming it, since the airflow shouldn't be too strong. Sophisticated arrangements that are difficult to dust even with a paintbrush can be easily cleaned with some compressed air.

Because you'll be spraying the dust off the petals and leaves, it's a good idea to use the compressed air outside to keep the dust out of your home. To ensure the air isn't too forceful, hold the nozzle approximately eight inches away from your faux flowers. Move the can around so that the air blows over every part of the plant and eliminates as much dust as possible. The movement of the air may also help to open your flowers by fluffing the petals.

Foliage that has lost its shine and started to look dull and drab is disappointing, but luckily the secret to cleaning up your fake plants is likely already inside your home. For faux leaves and flower petals with a glossy or wax-like sheen, such as anthuriums, WD-40 will restore their shine and make them beautiful again. The lubricant may also pull off debris that was left behind after regular dusting. Artificial flowers that are designed to have a matte appearance to their petals should only have WD-40 applied onto the leaves to shine them. Additionally, WD-40 shouldn't be used on silk plants, as it is likely to leave behind a residue and harm the delicate fabric.

After cleaning most of the dust from your artificial leaves, spray WD-40 over the top sides and wipe them with a clean, dry rag. Alternatively, apply the WD-40 directly to your cloth before wiping if you're worried about getting too much on the faux leaves. This method will leave your faux plants glossy and looking like the real deal.

When you have a huge amount of faux florals to dust or very big flower arrangements, using methods like the paintbrush option could prove tedious. If you don't have access to cans of compressed air, using a vacuum cleaner instead is a super efficient way to eliminate dust from your fake flowers. This should quickly clean lots of dust and reach most areas of your faux florals, especially when using the brush attachment. Small, handheld vacuums like the Heyousui Keyboard vacuum would also help to get the job done.

Be very gentle as you vacuum the delicate leaves and petals of your faux flowers to avoid ripping or otherwise harming the material, especially if you're working with silk florals. As you move your vacuum over the petals, the bristles of the brush attachment will pull the dust off the flowers. At the same time, your vacuum sucks up the debris, ensuring it doesn't migrate to other surfaces.

When silk flowers and other delicate fabrics become covered in grime or stained, you may think there's no hope to revive them; however, a little rubbing alcohol could make all the difference. Isopropyl alcohol is able to loosen and clean grease and dirt, and is also recommended as a stain remover on fabrics for a variety of different stains. Because alcohol evaporates so fast, it won't cause water damage to silk, making it a fantastic faux flower cleaner.

Mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle. To ensure your material won't change colors, test a small, less visible area first. Now, spritz your cleaning solution onto the flowers and wipe it off with a clean rag. If stains persist, try treating them again. Alternatively, you might wet a cotton ball or cloth with your rubbing alcohol and carefully dab the material to clean your faux florals and work out tougher stains.

If you have extremely bent foliage but no iron to smooth it out, a hair straighter or flat iron could come in handy in a pinch. While a hair straightener will be able to get creases and wrinkles out of faux leaves, you'll need to be very careful to ensure you don't burn or melt the material of your artificial plants. This method should only take a second or two for each leaf, and leaving the flat iron on the material for longer could cause damage. It's crucial to use caution when flattening your faux foliage with a hair straightener, and this option is best reserved as a last resort.

Heat your hair straighten up on its lowest setting and get your leaves ready. You may want to take them off the plant, similarly to the regular iron method. Quickly swipe the flat iron once over each leaf to get rid of wrinkles and flatten any large folds. If you're concerned about heat damage, putting the leaf inside a thin cloth or a piece of parchment paper would keep it from directly touching the hot flat iron.