Got a lovely bouquet of gorgeous-smelling flowers? You rush to put them in a vase, of course, only to find on the following day that some pollen has escaped and stained your sofa or carpet. Tulips, fuschias, orchids can all readily become the culprits behind the colourful mess on nearby surfaces or the unsightly stain on your white shirt.
Removing lily stains from fabrics is not as hard as you might think. And as long as you stay well away from the hasty idea to wet a cloth and start rubbing the stain, you will have every chance of succeeding.
So, if you:
Whether some pollen drops on a cushion while you are unwrapping a bunch of lilies or you accidentally touch the flowers with your sleeve, the orangy powdered hue will inevitably set in and tinge the fabric, leaving you with a stain to deal with.
So, here’s a list of things that you can do to remove lily pollen stain:
Clothes, pillowcases, linen and throw-overs can be shaken energetically until most of the dust falls off. You can also use a soft brush and try to stoke off the pollen without rubbing it.
Gently lift the coloured powder from the fabric with strong sellotape or velcro tape.
Rinse your garment under cold water. After removing as much of the pollen stain as possible, soak the clothing in cold water for 30 minutes.
Place the piece of clothing or fabric in direct sunlight for two to three hours. As a result of absorbing natural UV light from the sun, the carotenoids that make up pollen’s organic pigment undergo a process known as photodegradation and fade away.
Have a go at treating small pollen stains with a UV torch if the day is rather overcast. The phytochemicals will decompose and the stain will fade away.
Enzyme spot cleaners are designed to break down biological substances, so they are especially suitable for use on organic stains.
After pretreatment with the appropriate stain removal, you can wash the piece of cloth in the washing machine at a high temperature. Then, use the sun again to naturally bleach the mark, if any, and make it disappear for good. for good.
This method is your only solution if the stubborn lily stain has damaged a piece of clothing that can be only dry-cleaned. Follow carefully the manufacturer’s instructions but if unhappy with the result you can turn to a professional dry cleaning service.
Out of all fabrics, carpets are the trickiest, and some even smell after getting cleaned. To learn more check our guide about Why Do Carpets Smell Worse After Cleaning and How to Fix That?
As you’ll find it tricky to soak your fitted carpet or air it under the sun, you need to use a slightly different pollen removal approach if your floor covering ends up with a lily stain. The same goes for upholstery fabric that can’t be removed from your furniture and put in the washer.
Kids do this in anticipation to see what will happen. So, restrain your innate urge to touch the vibrant dust and check if it tints your index finger. Your natural skin oils will worsen the situation by turning the dry matter into a smudge.
Don’t reach for the kitchen roll to dab lily stain! You will only embed the pollen deeper into the fabric. The adhesive material that encases the pollen grains, called pollenkitt, will stick to the textile fibre if you try to blot the stain out with some paper.
It is not a good idea to wipe lily pollen. Regardless of what you use to wipe the yellow or orange dust, it will just “help” you spread the lily stain on the carpet, upholstery or garment. It will be even worse if you use wet wipes.
Using water may be helpful at a later stage but if you rush to wet the pollen stain as the first line of action, you will find that it will spread. Although pollen is not necessarily water-soluble, the powder mixed with water will easily form a much larger splotch.
To avoid doing more damage than good, always check the label on both the chemical solution you are about to use and the item you intend to treat. And if you feel insecure handling the stains on your own, you can always contact a professional carpet cleaning service.
After all, it is much safer to leave the task of cleaning your carpet or removing tricky stains from your upholstery to the experts. Equipped with everything necessary, the professional cleaners will treat your items with attention and care and will successfully remove lily pollen stains.
Get in touch with the professionals.
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Did you find this article helpful? Do you have any tips on getting rid of lily pollen stains? Let us know in the comments!
Image source: shutterstock / Nataliia Krasnogor
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