Avoid This Tactic When Cleaning Your Thrifted Baskets. Here's Why

Every time you go into a thrift store, you're bound to see a range of different baskets made from natural materials like wicker. While these can be turned into all sorts of highly useful storage solutions in and around your home, if they've been sitting on the thrift store shelf for a while, they're probably covered in dust or may even have that funky, musty odor. So, when you get them home, you'll immediately want to give them a good clean. To find the easiest way to clean your wicker baskets, you scour social media posts and stumble across a TikTok that shows you how to soak them in the bath with a few cleaning ingredients like vinegar. While this might seem like a good idea at first glance, you actually want to avoid this tactic at all costs. Why?

Essentially, soaking baskets made from natural fibers in water can actually weaken the fibers and cause the canes to warp or crack. You need to remember that you're dealing with a natural material that is able to absorb all that liquid when it's forced to soak in it. Similarly, harsh cleaning products can also soak into the canes and break down the fibers. Just think of this process as being similar to soaking a piece of furniture made from wood. As you would imagine, the timber would absorb the liquid and end up swelling and warping completely out of shape. Additionally, once the wicker baskets have absorbed the water, leaving them out in the sun for a while might cause the surface liquid to evaporate, but if there's still moisture inside the canes, this could lead to mold growth.

What you have to remember is that the materials your baskets are made from were once living plants, like bamboo, seagrass, or willow trees. This means that they're absorbent and will draw in all that moisture and any other products that they're being soaked in. All of that stored moisture provides the perfect environment for fungal growth, like mold, resulting in the release of that musty smell that you're probably familiar with. Even soaking your baskets for a short time in the bathtub will eventually have the same effect as leaving that gorgeous wicker patio furniture out in the rain.

All of this means that soaking your baskets is definitely something that you want to avoid. Instead, you can get your thrifted baskets squeaky clean and odor-free by using odor-absorbing products like baking soda, dried coffee grounds, and activated charcoal. You should focus on wiping the baskets with a damp cloth mixed with a variety of gentle cleaning solutions, like dish soap, vinegar, or even diluted bleach. Now that you know what not to do if you want to get those thrifted baskets nice and clean, you might want to explore how to use them around your home for stylish storage solutions.