A mum has gone viral on TikTok revealing her controversial festive tradition – giving her Christmas tree a deep clean in her bathtub.
Rhema, who is in her late twenties, racked up 2.5 million views online after sharing a video of her scrubbing her tree ahead of the holidays.
Viewers have been left torn on whether or not the task is necessary – with some slamming it as “performative cleaning”.
But for the mum, it’s a “need” – and she enjoys personal benefits as well as having a clean home.
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“Frequently cleaning your Christmas tree would be beneficial to one’s respiratory health and if you sing or dance while doing it, can benefit your mental health as well,” Rhema, from Ontario, Canada, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“The intricate foliage on artificial Christmas trees can harbour a lot of dust and smells from all the guests and cooking we do around the holidays, even if they’re only up for a short while.
“Additionally, with the extensive amount of time trees often spend in basements, crawlspaces, attics or closets, can be a prime candidate for dust and insects.
“I used soap and warm water and it took me roughly 20 minutes to clean the tree, filming
included and a few days to thoroughly sundry.
“As a family who’s quite sensitive to dust, I had to clean it before setting it up in our home.
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“I searched for effective methods of cleaning the tree but didn’t see any that would work for me and dusting frankly would’ve just relocated the dust as opposed to getting rid of it.
“I chose to clean the tree the way I did because it was the effective simplicity of using things I already had,
“Regardless of how controversial it might seem, I’m pretty sure at least one person is going to consider if their Christmas tree needs to be cleaned and to me, that means my video was a success.
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“I’m so happy my family and I can now enjoy a beautiful and clean tree that will be flocked with great memories.”
While the clip garnered 125,000 likes on TikTok, not everyone was impressed by the cleaning tip.
One user commented: “Performative cleaning at its finest.”
“The water being clear told me I don’t need to do this,” another person said.
Someone else added: “The perfectly clear water and 2 small pine needles sailing down the drain really sent me.”
“Me doing anything at work to make it look like I’m busy,” joked another viewer.
Another user said: “It stays out for 2 months and then stays in a protective bin for the rest of the year. I think it might be okay.”
“There’s a reason we store it in a giant plastic bag! No dust, no dirt,” pointed out another viewer.
Someone else commented: “I need to WHAT? Every day I get on this app and it’s something more I gotta do…”
“I can barely put my tree up… ain’t happening,” another critic said.
READ MORE: Dad reveals how he is funding Christmas for ‘FREE’ – including Turkey bought LAST year
