With Summer right around the corner, many of us have beautiful flower arrangements atop our counters and tables. Often times, flowers are only reserved for holidays and special occasions, but science has proven the presence of fresh cut flowers in your home can relieve stress and anxiety. A behavioral research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School proves that people who keep fresh flowers in their homes feel more compassion for others around them and have less feelings of depression. Flowers not only make us happy when we receive them, but when we keep them around for a few days if can positively affect a variety of our emotions. Having flowers in the workplace can boost energy and enthusiasm and keep you going throughout your day. Flowers are an all around good thing to have in your presence. However, there is one place these flowers do not belong, on our carpets! Many flowers such as lilies, contain stamens. At the top of the stamen there are anthers that contain pollen. When these anthers fall off the flower, then can make quite a mess around our homes. Because pollen creates a dry stain, you can not go about cleaning it as you would any other liquid stain. Steam Magic Carpet Cleaning has all the tricks of the trade for removing all sorts of stains, today we will share the proper way to remove pollen stains from your carpets.
How to Protect Carpet from Pollen Stains
1: Avoid touching pollen stains with your fingers or hands. The oils we have on our skin will cause the pollen to sink into your carpet fibers and make it more difficult to remove.
2: Pollen is a dusty, dry substance. Removing it dry will be more effective than wetting it like other stains.
3: Sticky tape is helpful in this instance.
How to Remove Yellow Lily & Flower Pollen Stains from Carpet
1: Start with a vacuum cleaner- Start without the head attachment, and gently vacuum the affected area being careful to not rub the stain, this will cause it to get ground into the carpet fibers.
2: Use sticky tape- Next use duct tape or anther comparable tape and blot the stain gently, the sticky side of the tape will attach to the remaining pollen and remove most of what’s left.
3: Use a dry-cleaning solvent- There are numerous different dry-cleaning solutions available. Pick one to your liking and use as directed. Remember, blot never rub!
4: Use a laundry detergent containing enzymes- If the previous methods were ineffective, move onto a laundry detergent such as Persil Biological detergent. Dilute the detergent in warm water, about 2 tbsp of detergent mixed in with about 2 cups of warm water. Using a clean white washcloth gently blot the stain with the detergent solution until the remainder of the stain is gone. Follow up with a clean white cloth and use clean warm water to blot the area to remove any lingering detergent. Then blot dry with a clean cloth. This should do the trick.
Carpet Cleaning & More in San Diego, Solana Beach, La Mesa, Mission Valley, La Jolla, Del Mar, Poway, Encinitas, Chula Vista California
There you go, when you know the process of what it takes to remove pollen stains from your carpets you won’t hesitate to have these beautiful blooms in your home in the future. Steam Magic Carpet Cleaning is available for all your carpet cleaning needs, having your carpets cleaned every 6 months to a year will keep your carpets looking new and allergen free. Give us a call today to schedule your home’s next steam clean!
