How to keep a home clean with a real Christmas tree – 6 steps to keep the magic alive and the mess away

Real Christmas trees are magical. With the fresh smell of pine and the excitement of picking out the perfect one to bring home and decorate with your family, there is nothing quite like it.

However, the magic can start to wain when your real Christmas tree starts to drop needles, leak sap, and smell bad. So how do you keep a home clean with a real fir in the mix, and extend the magic a little longer?

We asked professional cleaners for their top cleaning tips for keeping a home spic and span with a real tree.

How to keep your home clean with a real Christmas tree

Bringing home a real tree means committing to cleaning up regularly and watering a Christmas tree to keep it looking its best for longer. Failing to consider good tree maintenance is one of the most common real Christmas tree mistakes and can lead to unwanted smells.

Here’s how to easily incorporate Christmas tree care into your cleaning routine to keep things tidy, and your home smelling good this Christmas.

1. Shake it out before bringing it in

Before bringing a Christmas tree home, always shake it out, suggests Tim Conn, co-founder, cleaning expert, and president at Image One USA, ‘Before bringing your Christmas tree inside, give it a good shake outside to dislodge any loose needles.’

Shaking your tree thoroughly can also help to dislodge any bugs or pests before you accidentally bring them inside, so you won’t have to spend Christmas day running around with homemade bug sprays or vacuuming your ceiling.

2. Keep it watered

If your Christmas tree is drying out, it is more likely to drop needles and make a mess. Taylor Riley, cleaning professional and founder of Boom. facility Service Advisors says, ‘The first step to keeping your house clean during Christmas with a real tree is simple: keep it watered. A hydrated tree lasts longer and drops fewer needles overall.’

Using a tree stand with an integrated water reservoir, available at Walmart, is the best way to keep your tree hydrated and reduce the risk of it falling over.

To stop dropped pined blocking your vacuum cleaner, head of Solved, Punteha van Terheyden, says, 'Use a dustpan and brush to gather and remove the majority of the pine needles. I made the mistake one Christmas of vacuuming heavy pine drops and blocked my canister vacuum. Now I gather the bulk with a long handled dustpan and brush, available on Amazon, gathering them from the outside perimeter inwards. Then, I vacuum the rest.'

3. Vacuum daily

Generally speaking, when it comes to how often you should vacuum, we recommend twice a week. As soon as you bring a real tree home, however, this should increase to every day – at least around your tree.

Tim Conn, cleaning expert says, ‘When cleaning around the tree, vacuum regularly with a handheld or stick vacuum designed for hardwood floors. If you are having trouble sweeping all the needles, a rubber broom can help get the stragglers.’

Taylor Riley, cleaning professional also agrees that the best cordless vacuum is a good investment for this, saying, ‘Another game-changer for me is having a cordless vacuum within arm’s reach. Needles seem to appear out of nowhere, so a quick vacuum session every couple of days keeps things looking tidy. The cordless design makes it easy to get around without dealing with plugs or cords, saving time and hassle.’

If you fancy the splurge and don’t want to spend all your Christmas cleaning, picking the best robot vacuum will keep your floor neat without any effort. Especially if you pick a self-emptying model such as the eufy X10 Pro Omni robot which our Solved editor, Punteha van Terheyden reviewed and adored as a busy homeowner with chronic pain. However, it is is advised to use this for general, not pine needle vacuuming as the robot may become blocked or damaged.

4. Use a tree skirt

Christmas tree skirt ideas do more than add to your Christmas decor and offer a place for your presents. They are a top tool in protecting your flooring from a real tree and keeping your home clean.

Taylor Riley, cleaning professional, reminds us, ‘No matter how diligent you are about watering, some needles will still fall – it's inevitable. To tackle this, I’ve always relied on a good tree skirt [such as this best-selling knitted tree skirt, from Walmart, which comes in seven colors]. Not only does it add a nice decorative touch, but it also catches the majority of those fallen needles. When it’s time to clean up, I can just take the skirt outside and shake it off to get rid of the mess in one go.’

Our interiors team have hunted down beautiful tree skirt ideas.

5. Keep your tree ventilated

While we might have shut up our windows to keep our homes warm over winter, it is still important to improve ventilation in your home and around your tree to prevent musty odors.

Tim Conn, cleaning expert explains that, ‘Ventilation is key to keeping your house fresh during the winter, especially with a real Christmas tree. Ensuring proper airflow around the tree can prevent it from becoming musty. Consider including a humidifier to decrease the amount of dry air throughout the house.’

Punteha, head of Solved brought home a freshly cut tree from a Christmas tree farm and the entire tree was wet through from heavy rain. She popped on her small dehumidifier from Amazon, next to the tree and the branches and pines were dry within two hours, without adding excess humidity to the living room.

There are, of course, several ways to make your home smell good for Christmas, but they should only ever be used to supplement the smell of your real tree, not mask bad odors if your Christmas tree smells bad.

6. Use rubbing alcohol or ice for tree sap

Cleaning up Christmas tree sap and pine resin is a tough task, but one you have to stay on top of if you don’t want to permanently damage your home or furnishings.

Tim Conn, cleaning expert, says, ‘Wear gloves when handling your tree to avoid transferring sap to furniture, floors, clothes, or more. If sap does get on any surfaces, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer works well for efficient removal. For sap stuck on fabric, use an ice cube to freeze the sap and harden it, then gently scrape it off with a butter knife.’

Rubbing alcohol is great for many cleaning tasks around the home, though there are some things you should never clean with rubbing alcohol to prevent damage or discoloration, including leather and natural stone surfaces such as granite and marble.

When choosing a Christmas tree, look at trees that look healthy and do not have drooping or browning needles for a tree that will last longer in your home. Be on the lookout for pests, too, as this can reduce the integrity of your tree and cause more mess and havoc by Christmas day.

Next, learn about the DIY deodorizing spray that banished bad Christmas tree smells for our head of Solved.