Nothing is lovelier than a bouquet of flowers until you see those yellow stains on your clothing or linens. Pollen does more than make us sneeze, it can really stain fabrics. Here's how to remove pollen stains from clothes:

First, NEVER rub the pollen with your hand or a cloth. You will only push the dye deeper into the fabric. Take the fabric outside and shake off the pollen. Or, use a piece of tape to pick up the pollen grains.

The trick is to keep the pollen from penetrating the fibers.

For washable fabrics, soak the garment in a solution of cold water and oxygen based bleach (OxiClean, Tide OXI, or Country Save Bleach are brand names) for at least 30 minutes - longer is better, up to 8 hours. Follow the package directions as to how much product per gallon of water.  If the stain is still present, repeat the process with a fresh batch of solution.

After soaking, wash the garment as recommended on the care label. Do not dry garment until the stain is completely removed.

If the garment is dry clean only, point out and identify the stain to your professional cleaner. If possible, tell him the type of flower that caused the stain. Lilies are usually the main culprit. If you are using a homedry cleaning kit, be sure to treat the stain with the provided stain remover before putting the garment in the dryer bag.

For more stain removal tips: Stain Removal A to Z

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