It's Cleaning Time!

• Post Date: 5/6/2026
• Author: Nicole Frydman, Manager of Communications and Development / McKenna Wise, marketing and communications student assistant
• Reading Time: 4 minute read

• News tag
• Behind the Scenes tag

Thunderstorms roll, goslings waddle, and flowers bloom̶ Spring has sprung! Fresh breezes and open windows often spark spring cleaning! Here at Spurlock cleaning is a big deal. Our annual deep clean is laborious, detailed, and absolutely vital to the mission and values of the museum.While there are multiple cleanings done throughout the museum every week, the annual deep clean goes above and beyond to ensure the artifacts, galleries, and visitor spaces are in the best condition possible. Over 200 hours goes into this cleaning, with student workers and museum staff working side by side to clean every square foot of the museum. This video is a quick look at the process from this year.

Clean spaces, policies, and practices are essential in museums. Two of the most critical threats to artifacts are pests and dust, and cleaning is the best way to prevent the harm from both. Microfiber cloths with a ph neutral solution are used to clean the glass display cases. Most commercial products used in homes should not be used in the museum. This is because they leave a film on glass and can produce fumes that degrade artifacts. Dust can have similar effects: it can promote mold growth, corrode metal, and even be a source of food and shelter for small pests.

While pesticides might seem like an effective solution, due to concerns about potential damage to artifacts and belongings, they have never been used at Spurlock. Instead, preventative measures like dusting and vacuuming have reduced pests by 80%! These efforts are part of our integrated Pest Management system. This includes regular building inspections, rapid responses to spills, food and drink restricted to specific designated areas, trashcans with lids, doors with sweeps and automatic closure, an excellent year-round custodial staff, and constant dedication to best practices.

When speaking to the Collections section about the annual cleaning project, students and staff had a lot to say. A repeated theme was the feeling of accomplishment that follows the completion of the cleaning—a “We did that!” attitude. Student employees Aiden and Silas in Collections noted that dusting the statues was the most enjoyable physical task. However, the long conversations while they work that lead down strange and existential paths remain their favorite part. Team building and a shared sense of accomplishment were points of positivity from Collections Storage Coordinator Jen Grove, who oversees much of the deep clean project. Self-motivation and respect for the artifacts were listed as driving forces that helped many team members push through the final stages of the project.

While the annual cleaning does take a lot of time and the year-round practices are a consistent effort at Spurlock, they are vital to preservation and ensure responsible, respectful stewardship. So, this is a very rewarding component of the team’s work!