How to clean artificial flowers & plants

Sarah, our brilliant customer service manager and artificial plant expert, has over 15 years of knowledge and will run you through how to clean your artificial flowers and plants so that they look as good as the day they arrived!

Artificial flowers and plants are incredibly realistic these days, but a layer of dust can reveal their secret. 

To help combat this, we've got some excellent tips for cleaning artificial flowers and plants below.

Cleaning silk flowers

Silk flowers need a little extra care compared to latex flowers because of their delicate nature. Using water, a damp cloth, or harsh chemicals might cause the colours to run, which we certainly wouldn’t want!

To find the best way to clean your artificial flowers, watch our video guide below or read on for instructions.

Option 1: Using a damp cloth

With latex or real-touch flowers, like our artificial orchids or rose stems, a damp cloth is usually the best method for removing dust.

Just take a clean, damp cloth and wipe each flower carefully, making sure to get into all the small details, then leave them to dry.

We don’t recommend this on silk or fabric flowers as it might cause the colours to run.

Option 2: Try a cleaning spray

You can find a range of artificial flower cleaning sprays online that work well for silk plants and flowers. They’re perfect for bouquets or outdoor flower arrangements, and some can even make your flowers smell nice.

It’s best to do this outdoors or over newspaper to protect your surface. Test the spray on a hidden leaf first, then spray generously and leave to dry.

Option 3: Use a hair dryer or compressed air

This method works really well for intricate flowers like our lisianthus or delphinium stems in our artificial bouquets, where cloth or spray can’t reach corners.

Take your flowers outside or by an open window and use a hair dryer (on cool) or compressed air to clean them.

Cleaning artificial plants

Along with a regular dusting, watch our video below where Sarah walks you through four simple options to clean your artificial plants.

Option 1: Paintbrush

Start at the top of your plant and work your way down to avoid dusting leaves twice. Simply brush each piece of faux foliage until clean. Small desktop plants take a minute, while larger trees may take 10–15 minutes.

Option 2: Hairdryer / compressed air

This is the fastest method for large plants but can be messy, so do it outdoors. Use a hair dryer on cool or a can of compressed air to remove dust.

Option 3: A damp cloth

Wipe each leaf with a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt. Avoid delicate plants to prevent colour running. Great for stubborn marks.

Option 4: Cleaning spray

Artificial plant sprays work well on flowers and silk plants without causing colours to run. Test on a hidden area first, then spray leaves from top to bottom and leave to dry. No rinsing required—perfect for large faux plants.

Need some help?

If you need any help with cleaning your artificial flowers or plants, we’re always happy to assist. Just get in touch or use our live chat feature.