There’s something magical and truly festive about the smell of a real Christmas tree wafting through your home during the holidays. But dealing with what feels like the constant onslaught of spiky pine needles can be off-putting, and leave you wishing you’d opted for a faux tree instead.
Why is that Christmas tree pine needles seem to get everywhere? And furthermore, they have a knack of embedding themselves into things so well that you’ll still be finding them well into spring time. Christmas is a busy season so if you’ve got a real tree, you need to be armed with the pine needle know-how.
Read our advice on removing pine needles from hard floor and carpet. It’s not rocket science and sadly there’s no magic trick. But the good news is that by following these easy cleaning tips, little and often, keeping your house free of rogue pine needles needn’t be an overwhelming chore.
Tools for cleaning up Christmas tree pine needles
While we love a good robot vacuum cleaner, they can be a pain at this time of year. It’s likely that your robot vacuum will bump into the base of the tree, causing more pine needles to drop. Not to mention that it might try to suck up the tree skirt, or bump into delicate presents on the floor beneath the tree.
Instead, we recommend one of the best vacuum cleaners such as a slim cordless vacuum, or a good quality handheld vacuum. A handheld vacuum will allow you to reach all around the base of the tree and into awkward corners without disturbing the branches too much, which could cause even more needles to drop.
When vacuuming, it's better to use the crevice tool or the hose directly while keeping an eye on the canister capacity. Take care not to vacuum up pine needles using the general floorhead on an upright vacuum — they can jam the brush bar, which can be very difficult (and messy) to remove as well as damage the appliance itself. This might make some handhelds with rotating brush bars unsuitable for the task too.
If you have a wood floor or tiled floor below your tree, you might choose to use a good quality indoor broom along with a brush and dustpan. While this option can be a bit slower, it does avoid clogging your vacuum with pine needles, which can be a problem if there are lots to clear up. Thankfully though, pine needles haven't made it onto our list of the things you should never vacuum.
A lint roller, or some duct tape wrapped around your hand, can be a useful way to pick up stray needles when there’s only a few to collect.
How to clean up Christmas tree pine needles
1. The best thing to do is a quick daily clean. If you vacuum or sweep the area beneath your tree on a daily basis, you’ll avoid a build up. And it’s less likely that the needles will migrate to other areas of your home.
Simply use a brush and dustpan or a handheld vacuum to pick up any obvious pine needles that you can see around the front of the tree, no need to hunt them out. However, it’s a good idea to do a more thorough clean once or twice a week.
2. For the weekly clean, move any presents or decorations from beneath the tree and thoroughly clean up all the needles. If you have a tree skirt that’s easily removable, take it outside and give it a good shake before replacing it. Make sure you dust off the decorations and presents to remove any lingering pine needles that may be hiding in or on these items, before placing them back under the tree.
3. If you have hard floors, clean up should be pretty straightforward. But for homes with carpet, pine needles can be particularly troublesome. A thorough vacuum won’t always remove them all. In this case, you could try the tape or lint roller trick.
Wrap tape around your hand (duct tape or packing tape works best) sticky side out, or use a sticky lint roller, like this MONSEK 4X Extra Sticky Lint Roller for Pet Hair ($17, Amazon), and sweep it over the area. Hopefully any stray pine needles will stick to it, but if not, you may have to pick out a few by hand.
4. To help make life easier, we recommend investing in a tree mat, like this Drymate XL Christmas Tree Stand Mat ($39, Amazon). Not only will it protect both hard floors and carpeted floors from water spillages beneath your tree. But if you buy a big enough one, most of the fallen pine needles will end up on the mat, not embedded in your carpet.
A good quality tree mat is designed so that pine needles don’t become stuck in it, making clean up quicker and easier. Plus, it’ll protect your floors from sap too, a sticky residue that can require a wet clean to remove.
How to stop pine needles from dropping
- Always buy a good quality tree and if you can afford a variety less prone to dropping, such as a Fraser Fir, this will make for an easier festive season. Choose the freshest possible tree and if possible, trim or have someone else trim the stump, this will allow it to take up more water and stay fresher for longer.
- The best way to keep pine needles on your tree during the festive season is to keep the base of your tree well watered. If you allow the tree to dry out, it’s likely more pine needles will die and drop off.
- When you bring the tree into the house to dress it, leave it in the net, until it’s in position. This will help to contain the pine needles, removing the net too early can result in a trail of needles around the house.
- Try to keep pets and children away from the tree and avoid brushing past it or rearranging the ornaments. Often, just a small amount of movement can cause needles to drop, so as much as possible, leave the tree alone. Fake trees are generally safer for pets because the needles from real fir and pine trees can upset the stomach if ingested and lead to internal damage. Plus any standing water beneath will likely contain pesticides and chemicals. See real Christmas tree versus fake for more info.
- Note: Some people swear by hairspray. Giving the tree a good spritz with hairspray can help to preserve the needles. BUT - it can also be a fire hazard, so we think this one is best avoided.
- When it’s time to take down the tree at the end of the festive season, take it out of the nearest door or big window to avoid spreading the needles around your home. If you’re concerned about creating a mess when taking your tree outside, you could try wrapping it in an old bed sheet or tarp before carrying it outside.
Remember, if you choose a real tree, you will need to accept that pine needles are going to drop. So if the extra clean up, watering, and care are just too overwhelming during the busy holiday season, a faux tree might be you.
There are lots of really good quality faux Christmas trees around and a pine scented candle or some pine oil in a diffuser can give you that ‘real Christmas tree’ smell you’re craving, but without adding extra chores to your to-do list.
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