Shocking amount of dust and dirt lurking on a Christmas tree revealed when a woman tries washing one
A woman has revealed just how dusty and dirty artificial Christmas trees can get over the years after she washed her own.
Tanja Bentley Ward noticed the amount of dust on her tree last year so this year she decided to do something about it before putting it up.
She showed the process and the shocking result in an Instagram reel.
Watch the video above.
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The water quickly started getting dirty from the moment the branches went in. Instagram/@tanjatalks
"This year, Johnny setup a system for me to rinse and dry the branches before we decorate the house. Have you ever cleaned your Christmas tree?! Ours was much worse than I thought," she said.
The video starts with Bentley Ward dipping a branch in and out of the water, which was already dirty but gets progressively darker in colour from there.
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This is how the water looked after the tree was washed. Instagram/@tanjatalks
"You might be surprised by the amount of dust on your Christmas tree," the text on the clip read.
The water was so dirty by the end of the process that you couldn't see the bottom of the sink. There were also leaves in the water which seemed to have blown their way into the Christmas tree box while it was sitting in the garage.
After washing all the pieces of the tree they were hung up to dry in the garage.
While this video shows that washing the Christmas tree is something worth considering, most people are not on board with it.
"I DONT NEED ANYTHING ELSE TO CLEAN," a woman said, which seemed to be a common sentiment.
"The dust is where the memories live," a man joked.
The tree pieces were hung in the garage to dry. Instagram/@tanjatalks
"My moms tree is over 50 years old i think if we washed it, it itself would crumble to dust," another said.
"The way I barely put it up and put every year, I'm definitely not getting to this task," one commented.
"My tree that's been up for 2 years straight lol," posted another.
There were some who thought it might be a good idea, including a few who already clean their tree by washing it outside.
"My husband power washes it before and after the holidays," a woman said.
"Take it outside and spray it with the hose before it gets too cold out, dry it off with the leaf blower then take it in and decorate it," another said.
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Meanwhile, one person brought up a very important point for people whose trees have lights already in or on them.
"I would love to but it's pre-strung with 500 lights. No idea how to go about dusting or cleaning it," they said.
For that you definitely should not wash the tree or get any water on it because you don't want any water to ruin the lights and wiring or still be there when you turn it on.
To clean a Christmas tree with lights you could try wiping it with a dry cloth, shaking it outside or according to the comments section of the Instagram post, try a leaf blower - but you do so at your own and the tree's risk.
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