Everyone loves flowers, but not everyone enjoys cleaning up after them if they happen to make a mess. You don’t realize what a mess flowers can make, until you’re down on all fours trying to figure out how to get the orange or yellow pollen stain out of your carpets or upholstery! Pollen stains are a dusty substance and therefore require a different cleaning method than other stains. If you aren’t careful, you can make the stain worse, or possibly set it into the carpet or upholstery fiber which will require a professional cleaning to remove. Heart of Texas Chem-Dry is here to give you the ins-and-outs of cleaning pollen stains today!
How Not to Remove Lily Pollen Stains
Avoid touching the pollen stain with your fingers, the oils from your hands will mix with the pollen and drive the stain further into the carpet. Also, resist the urge to dive into the stain with a wet cleaning solvent. Pollen is dusty and therefore can be removed with dry, or dry-cleaning solvents much easier than if you were to use wet solvents. Especially on furniture!
How to Get Lily Pollen Stains Out of Carpet Fibers
1: Use tape & a vacuum – Start by gently blotting the stain with sticky tape to remove as much of the pollen as possible. Then use your vacuum nozzle without an attachment to gently suck up any remaining pollen dust. Do not scrub back and forth with the nozzle as you will risk spreading the stain.
2: Sponge with a dry-cleaning solvent- This is the most effective way to remove any remaining pollen stains that the vacuum or tape couldn’t remove. Simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions and gently blot with a clean sponge until the pollen is gone.
3: Use an enzyme powered laundry product- If you don’t have a dry-cleaning solvent on hand, you can use Persil biological detergent or something comparable. As with any other cleaning method, start by testing an inconspicuous spot on your carpet to ensure color fastness. Then simply follow the manufacturer’s dilution recommendation to ensure you apply the product properly. Using a clean, dry cloth, blot it into the solution and gently blot the area until the stain disappears. Follow by blotting with a clean, dry cloth to dry the affected are.
4: Isopropyl Alcohol- If you use alcohol to clean the affected area, be sure to test a small inconspicuous area of your carpet first to make sure it doesn’t affect the color of the carpet. Then proceed by dabbing a clean, dry cloth with the isopropyl alcohol, then gently blot the pollen stain. Be sure to do this in a well-ventilated area.
Carpet Cleaning & More in Waco, Dallas, Arlington, Harker Heights, Cedar Park, Allen & the State of Texas
With these simple steps in your arsenal of cleaning hacks, you can welcome these beautiful flowers into your home anytime! Before a stain occurs, consider removing these pollen stamens from the flowers when you get them to avoid this occurrence. Simply take a paper towel and gently pinch the anthers off the flowers, try to do this step outside, near a trashcan and voila! No more issues. Heart of Texas Chem-Dry offers carpet deep cleaning treatments that remove a variety of tough stains. If you have further questions or need assistance removing stubborn stains on carpet or upholstery, give us a call! We’re thrilled to help!
