Cobwebs: Why You Should Clean Them & How to Clean Them
Cobwebs or spider webs may seem like an insignificant issue, but their presence causes several problems. Health issues, sick building syndrome, damaging equipment, increasing maintenance costs causing fire and high energy bills are just the beginning of it. Cobweb cleaning is necessary for all residential and commercial properties. But how should you clean them?
In this article, we’ll discuss why cleaning cobwebs is essential and how to clean them effectively.
What are Cobwebs?
First, we should define cobwebs. Cobwebs are spider webs that are abandoned. They are generally nests spun by the Theridiidea spider family, commonly known as “house spiders”. Cobwebs have complex structures, are sticky and cause lots of mess if they are not dealt with in any residential or commercial space.
Places That Need Cobweb Cleaning
Cobwebs are often found in places where disturbance of any kind is minimal. For example, on ceilings and corners in spaces with high ceilings like a warehouse or a factory. They also form in lift shafts, inside air ducts, inside computers or equipment that have not been used for a long time or around wall fittings.
Cobwebs are quite resilient and if left untouched or away from external elements like wind, they can last several years and slowly collect dust and other particles that may cause serious issues.
Therefore, it is essential to clean them every once in a while or eliminate the cause by taking pest control measures. The best time to clean cobwebs is spring, although cleaning during fall is also effective. You can also clean cobwebs in areas like lift shafts or ceilings during maintenance to save maintenance and cleaning costs.
Why You Should Clean Cobwebs
Spiders that make cobwebs are not dangerous ones. However, their webs may cause several problems, often serious enough to cause health issues and expensive damages. The following are the most important reasons for cleaning cobwebs in commercial and residential spaces.
Health & Hygiene
The most important reason for cleaning cobwebs is health & hygiene. Cobwebs are sticky and trap dust, unpleasant particles and insects. Over time, decaying matters trapped in cobwebs (like organic particles or insects) will produce an unpleasant odour. Also, if cobwebs are disturbed by a wind or breeze, all the dust will be released into the air.
Together, they significantly impact the health and hygiene quality and may cause allergic reactions, red eye, eczema and other health-related issues.
Fire Hazard
Cobwebs are also a big safety issue and may cause massive building fires. While cobwebs are not flammable, they trap dust, which is a tiny spark away from catching fire and burning everything around it. This can be the stored goods beneath it in warehouses or wires and electronics in lift shafts, all resulting in massive fires and disasters.
In addition, cobwebs can conduct electricity. Well, not by themselves, but as they trap moisture and dew, they act like a wire, which may short electronics which may lead to equipment damage if not a disastrous fire incident.
Air Quality
As mentioned before, dust trapped in cobwebs can be released into the air due to wind, breeze or any other similar disturbance. This will greatly impact the air quality and will cause respiratory diseases and other health-related issues in those presented in the environment. Therefore, cleaning cobwebs can prevent dusty air and improve the overall air quality in the space.
Pest Control
Cobwebs are spider webs that are abandoned. This means the spider either died or left its web. Although abandoned, they’ll remain sticky for several years and continue to trap insects. Trapped insects in cobwebs will become a food source for pests like rats or mice, which causes pest infestation. This is especially an issue for factories storing consumable products in their warehouses and a huge Health & Safety violation.
Equipment Efficiency & Damage
High energy consumption is another issue that cobwebs cause and it’s an expensive one as energy bills will go up. Accumulation of cobwebs in HVAC ducts will add to their strength. Therefore, they become resistant to the airflow inside the air duct. As a result, the HVAC system should work harder, which means more energy consumption and higher electricity bills. It’s crucial to get rid of cobwebs every time you’re cleaning HVAC air ducts.
Cobwebs also affect lighting efficiency. In warehouses with high ceilings, cobwebs can form the form of lamps and lenses, which over time will reduce the light in the environment.
In addition, tiny spiders may make cobwebs inside electronics, especially those that haven’t been used for a long time. This not only damages hardware and components but also reduces airflow and forces the equipment (like computers or servers) to work under high temperatures.
Read More: Why Electronics Collect so Much Dust?
Aesthetics Factor
Cobwebs in high-foot areas like museums or art galleries can affect the aesthetics of the space. Therefore, it is suggested to clean them as soon as they appear. In such spaces, cobwebs are mostly on light fittings, the gap between frames and wall surface, around narrow ledges and corners of ceiling.
Structural Preservation
Cleaning cobwebs also help preserve the property and its structural integrity. As mentioned before in this article, cobwebs trap moisture. Prolong presence of moisture in any environment can result in structural damage to areas around it. This can be the rust in air ducts or causing cracks in concrete walls in lift shafts or ceilings.
Read More: Hidden Costs of Dirty Office Space
How to Clean Cobwebs?
While the presence of cobwebs may cause serious problems, cleaning them is very easy, especially in residential settings. Following are some of the best ways to tackle the cobweb problem in home or office spaces.
You can use the same instructions for cobweb cleaning in warehouses or lift shafts but you may need extra equipment like ladders, boom lifts and extension poles for reaching and cleaning the ceiling and inside of air ducts.
Preparations
To clean cobwebs, first, you have to prepare. You’ll need simple personal protective equipment like safety glasses and gloves. Also, you may need some tools that depend on the method or the place you want to undertake cobweb cleaning. And lastly, make sure to cover everything beneath where you want to clean as dust and cobweb remains may fall. If possible, try to empty the vicinity of the area you’re about to clean.
Clean with Cobweb Brush
Cobweb brushes are designed to clean cobwebs formed on the ceiling corner in home or office spaces. They often come with extensions and different brush attachments which help you reach heights without risking your safety by using a ladder.
Just grab a cobweb brush and start cleaning cobwebs on the ceiling, light fitting or ledges in your house or office.
Read More: Cleaning Strategy for Open-Plan Offices
Clean with a Vacuum Cleaner
Cleaning cobwebs with a vacuum cleaner is another easy way to clean cobwebs in homes or workspaces. All you have to do is use the brush attachment and an extension pole to reach and vacuum higher areas.
Vacuuming cobwebs is more popular than cobweb brushes as the process is less messy and causes less dust.
Clean with a Duster
If you don’t want to invest in a dedicated cobweb cleaning brush, you can rely on your generic duster to clean cobwebs. Any feature or microfibre duster is as effective as other cobweb cleaning equipment.
Many generic dusters also come with extension poles, but if yours doesn’t, you can carefully climb a ladder to reach cobwebs on the ceiling and corners.
Read More: When to Clean or Replace Cleaning Equipment?
Clean with Microfibre Cloth
A simple microfibre cleaning cloth is perfect for cleaning areas within reach. To clean cobwebs on window ledges, window frames, behind frames on the wall or other reachable areas, just use a mildly damped microfibre cloth.
Read More: How to Clean Any Hard-to-Reach Area?
Conclusion
Cobweb is a common issue in many commercial and residential properties. They are essentially spider webs that are abandoned, old and dusty, often found in areas that are less used or disturbed by external factors. There are several important reasons for cleaning them regularly. In this article, we not only explored the most important reasons for cleaning cobwebs but also how to clean them using different cleaning equipment.
The information in this article can help you understand the problems of leaving cobwebs unclean as well as how to clean cobwebs in homes, office spaces, warehouses or other spaces effectively.
