While a real Christmas tree can bring festive cheer into your home, it can leave quite a mess in the days following December 25.
The spruce is known for shedding its needles throughout the holiday, and while your first instinct may be to reach for the hoover, there's a far easier method that won't jam up your appliance.
The needles can become stuck in the hose, bag and filters and even block the mechanisms. But rather than spending time picking up the mess by hand, a cleaning expert has shared one of the easiest ways to clean them up is with bicarbonate of soda.
Speaking to The Mirror, Emily Barron, a cleaning specialist at Rezigo, said that sprinkling the floor under the tree with the ingredient to cover the pine needles will make them easier to pick up.
Finally, use a lint roller over the affected area to pick up the pesky pins in minutes. If you don't own the clothes cleaning device, you can achieve the same with a household broom.
Once collected, the pine needles should then be thrown away in the garden bin, and the remaining baking soda can then be vacuumed up, leaving your floors clean once again.
Sodium bicarbonate is a common ingredient in cooking and it can be bought from Tesco for just 59p - matching the price found at Aldi.
Emily also said it's essential to keep your Christmas tree watered to prevent excessive needle dropping. What's more, a water expert says the type of water you use on your tree could be doing even more damage.
She said: "Make sure you top up the water every other day and be sure not to let the base dry or a seal can form and it might not take up further water. And be careful about the water you're topping it up with.
"According to Gene Fitzgerald, home water treatment expert at BOS, having a water softener at home your water can be high in sodium which is bad news for conifers and may cause your tree to drop needles faster. You could consider using another water source or bottled water to top up your tree - but check the label for sodium levels!"
The expert also suggested keeping your Christmas tree away from radiators, as the warm temperature could also speed up the needle-dropping process.
She added: "Make sure your tree is in the coolest part of the room it's in and away from any fires or radiators. Heat will speed up the needle-dropping process."
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