Cut flowers are a common sight in many homes, especially following occasions like Valentine’s Day. Typically, a bouquet of cut flowers will retain its freshness for about 7-10 days.
However, David Denyer, a flower expert at Eflorist, suggests a simple and affordable trick to extend the lifespan of your blooms – denture tablets. Priced as low as 79p at Asda and under £1 for a pack of 30 at most supermarkets, these tablets can make a significant difference.
By dissolving one tablet in the vase water (and replacing it each time you change the water), you could prolong the shelf-life of your flowers. Denture tablets contain ingredients similar to those found in household cleaners, including peroxide-based bleach, oxidisers, salt, and bicarbonate of soda.
Originally designed to clean porcelain and acrylic dentures, they have found their way into household cleaning routines. Many regularly use them on surfaces such as porcelain sinks and glass.
Now, they have another potential use. While some people already use these tablets to clean cloudy vases, they can also help extend the life of your cut flowers, reports Devon Live.
David shared the tip saying: “This is because the sterilising ingredients included in denture tablets – which is usually dilute sodium hypochlorite – is a mild bleach. This mild bleaching agent is similar to the ones you might find in conventional flower food, which helps to neutralise and kill harmful bacteria and pathogens in the water.
“In essence, dissolving denture tablets in the water of your cut flowers could work to preserve your flowers in the same way that flower food does, by acting as a disinfectant and preventing bacteria growth in the water which would otherwise clog the stems and shorten the life of your flowers as they wouldn’t be able to properly absorb water.”
However you can’t just add a tablet and leave it to do its work. To make the most of your blooms you still need to do a few jobs of basic flower care.
David says there are several other steps which can maximise the life of your blooms. He says: “To see the full benefits of using denture tablets in your water, you’ll still have to ensure proper flower care from the get-go, including trimming the stems of your flowers and replacing the water every other day.”
