There are lots of things that we do behind the scenes to care for our collection, which often go unnoticed. We joined Collections Officer, Sarah Mercer, as she gave G F Watts's Studio a New Year's deep clean.

Prior to our visit, Sarah had already begun the deep clean process by dusting and vacuuming the space. First, she carefully moved the furniture and paintings away from the walls. Then she began with the picture rails before working down the walls, to avoid disturbing dust onto surfaces she had already cleaned.

Much like any building, particles from upholstery, rugs and people's skin and clothes accumulate on the surfaces over time. Cleaning must be done carefully and as minimally as possible, to balance the risks posed by dust with the disturbance that cleaning can cause. Dust attracts insects into our spaces and provides food, which can lead to damage. Over time, it can cause objects to lose their vibrance and obscure their details. To remove it, Sarah uses a selection of different natural-hair brushes, gently sweeping their surfaces. She uses a vacuum cleaner with variable suction and a long hose, covered with a piece of gauze fabric. This allows her to catch dust as soon as it is disturbed with the brush, preventing it from settling on other surfaces. The gauze prevents larger fragments from being sucked into the vacuum cleaner.

It's important to use the right tools and materials when working with artworks and sculptures to help preserve them. A soft goat-hair brush is reserved for the gilded frames of Watts's paintings, which have extremely fragile surfaces. Slightly stiffer, hog-hair brushes are used for dusting the furniture and sculptures. The metal on the brush is covered with tape to prevent it from scratching.

With historic buildings like Limnerslease, it is impossible to keep every insect and spider from getting in and making their homes in little nooks and corners. We monitor the insects that make their way into our spaces every three months using sticky traps. This gives us an understanding of what is normal, allowing us to catch any increase in their numbers before damage is done. Spiders are welcome guests in moderate numbers, as they prey on more damaging insects such as carpet beetles and moths. They do sometimes leave behind cobwebs, but these are easily dusted away.

When cleaning artworks and objects, you get the opportunity to get up close and see them in much more detail than usual. This is useful for collections care, as it allows us to check on the object's condition whilst on display and spot any issues. Sometimes you'll spot something interesting, like a fragment of newspaper from 1902 which Sarah spotted in George's paint table. We also noticed some words etched into G F Watts's plaster cast of a chariot horse from the Parthenon, which is placed on the mantelpiece. Finally, we spotted the title of the Mary Watts' ornate fireplace, Love and Life, carved into the lower left corner. This was also the theme of a number of works by G F Watts, including a painting displayed nearby. See if you can spot these hidden details on your next visit.

Sarah makes sure that no stone is left unturned, and dusts every inch of the furniture, frames, stands and easels, as well as the insides of the cupboards and drawers. Sometimes, that means having to get down on the floor!

The last thing to do was making sure all the objects in the room were carefully arranged back in their original places, and then Sarah is done! Keep an eye out on your next visit, and you might see her continuing to clean in the rooms in Limnerslease. By springtime, all of the rooms will have been cared for, ready for another year of visitors!