My daughter and son-in-law last night had a vase of lilies blow off a window sill - the water and the pollen have now stained the carpet. Their initial enquiries have suggested that these stains cannot be removed and that the carpet will need to be replaced. Does anyone have any suggestions? (DIY or otherwise!)
Peter.
Found this on askjeeves:
------------------------- Question:
How do I remove lily pollen stains from clothes?
Answer:
Pollen stains are difficult to deal with. If detected right away, when clothing is first in contact with the pollen, do not brush off. Get a vacuum cleaner and use it without touching the pollen with the nozzle. If we are past this point, there are two things to try. Goddards company makes a drycleaning spray, which used as directed on dryclean only fabrics. Sometimes this can be successful. For washable fabrics you can try the last resort in stain removal. Soak the item in a strong solution of chlorox 2 and water (not regular chlorox!!) Allow to soak for days if necessary.
Thanks for the suggestion - the problem is the pollen mixed with the water, so it was never dry on the carpet to start with.
They've been in touch with the insurance company this afternoon (a call centre in India!).
Peter. (This is obviously a good reason NOT to buy flowers for the wife!)
"Snowman" snipped-for-privacy@anISP.com wrote
Nah. You men are not going to get out of it so easily.
It's obviously a good reason not to buy *the wrong* flowers for the wife.......
Love and kisses , Barbara
Top tip for lillies - carry on buying them, but tell the wife if she takes scissors to them just as they open (ie, each flower head) and cuts off the stamens, there'll be no pollen stains, and no dribbling nectar either. Do it early enough and there's none of either on the stameny stalk things, leave it too late and they'll be covered in pollen that drops everywhere when you cut them, so it needs doing on a daily basis to be effective.
Doesn't affect the scent of the lillies whatsoever.
Velvet
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