Spiders can be great. They eat insects and keep away the mosquitoes and flies. They can also be a bit creepy. For instance, when an eight-legged creepy crawler surprises you in the corner of your shower, it’s not exactly the most pleasant experience.

But I digress.

The real topic at hand here is about the magical cobweb. How does it appear? Where does it come from? And more importantly… how do you clean it?

First of all, what exactly is a cobweb?

A cobweb is actually an old, dusty spider’s web that has been abandoned by their former inhabitants.

What does it mean if you have cobwebs?

You have a new arachnid friend hanging around the nooks and crannies of your home. He’s probably perusing his way around the house, looking for new places to create a web to catch his next meal.

Why does it get so dirty?

The residual spider silk left behind is very sticky. This attracts pollen, dust and other remnants, making the cobweb grimy and creepy looking.

Running into a cobweb is usually unexpected and always unpleasant. Get rid of those cobwebs simply by using the extension nozzle on your vacuum to suck them up. Windows, doors, ceilings and corners are prime real estate for those daddy long legs to make a comfortable home.

If you don’t have a vacuum, a sock at the end of your broom will do just fine.

Prevention is key to keeping the cobwebs from forming in your home. Spiders taste with their legs (weird fact of the day) and will stay away from any room that has lemon, peppermint or eucalyptus within it.

Take a cotton ball and dab it with one of these essential oils. Place them in areas around your home to deter spiders from entering. If you can’t reach an area, spray the oils directly on the space to keep the spiders out.

It’s a simple solution and win-win situation: your house smells great and you end up keeping the creepy crawlers from making themselves at home!

It only takes a moment or two, but cleaning the blinds is one of the few tasks that we tend to forget about over time. It’s only when we come to realize that the dust and dirt is building up so much that even the sunlight is having trouble making its way through!

Regular dusting will keep the need for a deeper annual clean at a minimum; your house looks brighter (that sunshine does wonders to brighten up a room!) and the allergens that come along with the thick coating of dusty particles will diminish significantly.

Here are a few tips:

Microfiber cloth – These incredible little inventions are great for swiping away the dust.

Dip a clean cloth in a bowl of diluted vinegar and swipe your hand across the top and bottom of each slat.

Microfiber cloth also reduces static cling and decreases the dusty mess left behind.

Vacuum – After a quick swipe with a dry microfiber cloth, gently use the vacuum brush attachment to get rid of the excess dust and dirt.

Lemon Oil – If you have stain finished wood blinds, dilute some lemon oil with distilled water and spray the solution on the blinds. Using a microfiber cloth, gently wipe the oil and let dry. Not only does it clean your blinds, but they look shiny and new, and smell great too!

Detergent – Faux wood blinds and venetian blinds are less expensive and made of a hardier material. Remove excess dust with your vacuum brush attachment first. Then mix together a combination of warm water and a dab of mild detergent (such as Dawn). Dampen a microfiber cloth and wipe the top and bottom of each blind, then let air dry.

Word to the Wise: Excess moisture could warp your blinds and/or discolour your blinds, so don’t overdo it on the liquid. This includes water, detergent, oils, etc. If you’re working with any of these materials, simply dampen your cloth. That’s more than enough to get the job done.

Cleaning your blinds can be an easy task with these tips. So you have to stop and think to yourself: when’s the last time you ran a white cloth across your blinds?

Keeping Up with Clean

You’ve scoured and vacuumed and washed and scrubbed your home from top to bottom, and now you want it to stay that way. Maintaining a clean home can seem like an arduous task, but with a few simple steps, it’ll take no time before you’ve figured out a daily routine!

By maintaining the clean and clutter in your home and office, it’s easier to establish an orderly environment. And you don’t have to spend hours a day cleaning.

Tidy Tasks

Make it a habit to clean as your go. Remember the saying, “a place for everything and everything in its place?” This applies to keeping your home tidy.
For example, start by taking a few minutes at the end of each activity to put items back where they belong. Having accessible storage is a great way to keep your space clean.

Drawers, shelves, baskets and clear storage bins can help make putting things away in their proper place so much easier.

Sanity Saver

Make a schedule to establish a cleaning agenda, and focus on only one or two tasks per day.

If you share the space with your family or roommates, sit down and make a schedule that involves everyone. It’s a positive way to make everyone accountable for cleaning up after themselves.

Having a designated cleaning time frame means there are set days to do particular housekeeping tasks.

For example:

• Monday: Vacuum living room and bedrooms
• Tuesday: Wipe down bathroom, do laundry
• Wednesday: Pay bills, make grocery shopping list
• Thursday: Go grocery shopping, dust and clean windows/mirrors
• Friday: Spray down bathtub, wipe down kitchen counters
• Saturday: Deep clean the house

The Dirty Truth

Remember, not everyone will have the same standards of cleanliness. What you think is clean may still be an utter mess to someone else. Talk about your standards of cleanliness and create a housekeeping schedule as per those guidelines.
A few minutes a day may be the only thing keeping you from maintaining a clean and clutter-free household!

With over 40 years of combined experience in the field of facilities services, We offer our clients top quality cleaning and maintenance services with high standards, and we are committed to only using environmentally friendly cleaning products. Read more below to learn about touch point cleaning, and why keeping your spaces clean is important to your health.