Treating Flower Pollen

A big bouquet of lilies may be beautiful, but they can lead to problems when pollen comes into contact with fabric. The good news is the resulting stain can be removed! You can make the job easier by getting as much of the pollen off the fabric before you apply any water or laundry products so have less stain to deal with. Start by brushing or shaking away as much pollen as you can. You can also gently press a little clear cellophane tape to the pollen and lift it away. It’s sticky, so any pollen that remains will benefit from being pretreated before you wash it. I don’t know what fabric your stain is on, so here are some suggestions for two basic situations:

1. White, bleach-safe fabrics: Pretreat with Clorox® Bleach Pen Gel-apply a little directly to the stain and rub it in with the soft scrubber tip-and then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended using detergent and ½ cup Clorox® Regular Bleach₂. Note that you should always avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex.
2. Colored washable fabrics: Pretreat with Clorox2® Stain Remover and Color Booster-apply a little directly to the stain and rub in-wait 5 minutes, then wash in the hottest water recommended using detergent and more Clorox2®.

Air dry the item, and check to see if the stain is all the way out. You can always repeat the treatment if any residual stain remains. Your chances of complete success increase when you keep the item out of a hot dryer until you know the stain is gone. If your item is labeled “Dry Clean Only” then be sure to point the stains out to the dry cleaner, so it can be properly pretreated before washing.