Tips, Tricks, and General Tidbits
How to Maintain a Spider-free Home and Control their Webs
If you're like most people, the sight of a spider scurrying across your floor can send shivers down your spine. While spiders play a crucial role in controlling insect populations, many of us prefer to keep them at a safe distance. Maintaining a spider-free home is not only important for your peace of mind but also for your health and safety as they can create unsightly webs in your living space, which can be a nuisance to clean up. Additionally, some spider species can bite and cause allergic reactions or transmit diseases. Luckily, there are effective ways to deter these arachnids from taking up residence in your home.Understanding Our Visitors.Spiders, often misunderstood, play a pivotal role in our ecosystem by managing insect populations, essentially serving as natural pest control. They are equipped with an innate ability to navigate our world in search of warmth and sustenance, leading them inadvertently into our homes. Their preference for secluded, undisturbed areas is driven by the primal need to hunt without exposure to predators, making the quieter corners of our living spaces ideal for them.These creatures are skilled architects, weaving intricate webs as both a means to capture their prey and to signal a safe haven for themselves. The complexity of a spider's web is not just a marvel of natural engineering but also a testament to their survival instincts. By understanding that spiders are not invading our spaces with the intent to disturb but rather following their natural instincts to survive, we can approach the task of keeping them where they belong with a sense of respect for their role in nature. Their adaptability is notable, thriving in environments that meet their basic needs for food and shelter. This adaptability, however, places them in direct conflict with humans, as our homes inadvertently meet these criteria perfectly. By gaining an insight into what attracts them into our homes, we can better strategise preventive measures, focusing on altering our environments to become less appealing to these agile survivors. This proactive approach not only helps in maintaining a spider-free home but also respects the ecological balance by not disrupting these natural predators unnecessarily.Maintaining a Spider-Free Environment Through Regular Home Care.Creating a habitat that deters spiders from taking up residence in your home starts with the basics of diligent maintenance. An environment that's routinely cleaned and organised is less appealing to the creepy crawlies, who thrive in undisturbed, cluttered spaces. Engage in frequent dusting and vacuuming to disrupt any attempts by spiders to settle in. These simple acts remove food particles that attract insects, which in turn, attract spiders, effectively cutting off their food supply within your living spaces. Equally important is addressing the structural invitations that our homes unknowingly extend to these arachnids. Inspect your home for cracks, holes, and crevices in walls, foundations, and around windows and doors. These are the gateways through which spiders enter our homes. Sealing these entry points not only keeps spiders out but also enhances your home’s insulation, a win-win for pest control and energy efficiency. Furthermore, pay attention to outdoor areas directly adjacent to your home. Regularly trimming bushes, shrubs, and other plants can reduce the likelihood of spiders migrating from these natural habitats into your home. By maintaining a clean and orderly environment both inside and out, you minimise the hiding spots and food sources for spiders, making your home less enticing for them to inhabit. Adopting these practices of regular home care forms a cornerstone in the strategy to maintain a spider-free environment. It's a proactive approach that integrates seamlessly into routine cleaning schedules, fostering a space that prioritises your comfort by keeping spiders at bay. Miss Muffet's Revenge.If you are ready to take your spider-free mission to the next level, incorporating a spider repellent into your routine can significantly enhance your efforts to maintain our eight-legged friends out of the way. Miss Muffet’s Revenge creates a barrier that helps to keep them at bay for up to 9 months and control their webs maintaining your space clean and safe. It comes in a 2 litres ready-to-use bottle and the precision trigger will help to reach those difficult areas without the need of a ladder as the jet spray setting shoots up to 4 metres. This means no need for exterminators or pest control. Strategically applying it around potential entry points and favoured spider locations can further fortify your home against these unwelcome guests without kill. Apply a 30cm band of product along the exterior perimeter of your home. Alternatively, you can also spray it directly onto spider webs. Spray until slightly wet, without soaking and for best results, do it on a clear, dry day when wind and rain are not expected. Leave the application for one week, then come back and clean up the spider web.To see more about Miss Muffet’s Revenge like features, FAQ’s, photos and more, visit the product page.Learn more about the most common spiders found at home.To know find a stockist near you use the Store Locator.
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Window Witch – The Invisible Liquid Squeegee
From time to time, all parts of the house will need some attention, and this includes your exterior windows. As much as cleaning them may not be your favourite job, it’s undeniable that clean windows just make the whole house look cleaner also. In the other hand, exterior glass begging for a wash can turn your amazing looking property into something not as attractive. And this is not to mention about getting your view blocked! In fact, how many times do you actually look at those windows thinking you really need to get them cleaned properly soon? And then right after that you probably think… yeah, nah…. too much effort for something that is not going to last anyway hey? Even one drop of rain with a bit of wind could be enough to start ruining all the work you’ve done. Well, we can’t control mother nature and the way our properties get affected by its elements. We can however make your cleaning task a lot easier with Window Witch. With its ready-to-use hose end bottle, all you need to do is to click it onto your standard garden hose and follow these 3 simple steps: 1. APPLY TO YOUR EXTERIOR WINDOWS Once the hose is connected, turn the nozzle to the position you need. The FAN setting gives you a more even coverage when you don’t need to reach heights or longer distances. The JET setting will give a nice stream flow of up to 8 meters so you can reach those second storey glass from the ground with ease. When you’re all set, adjust the black dial to the WATER position and turn your tap on slowly in order to get the pressure you need (on this position only water will be passing through the bottle with no product being mixed). Now turn the dial all the way to the ON position and start applying to your first window. 2. LIGHTLY AGITATE Once you have finished applying, agitate the glass with a microfibre pad or a soft broom. You don’t need to scrub, just lightly agitate to help dislodge the dirt & grime easier. 3. RINSE IT OFF When you’re done with that, turn the black dial back to the WATER position and rinse it off. Make sure you work from the top of the glass to the bottom, so you don’t leave any soap residue. Now let it dry and get ready for a streak-free finish. No need to squeegee! NOTE: Repeat the process one window at a time to make sure you don’t let the product dry on the glass. When applied as per these instructions, Window Witch will cover up to 600sq meters of glass. This is a lot of windows! Ah, and you don’t need to use it all at once since it has unlimited shelf life. Keep what is left for your next application and keep your view clean with Window Witch! Find out more about the Window Witch here. Watch a demonstration on Healthy Homes Australia TV show. To find a stockist near you visit our Store Locator.
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Wet & Forget is now Smart Approved WaterMark!
Our flagship product, the original Wet & Forget Moss and Mould Remover Concentrate, has officially been approved by the Smart Approved WaterMark program and added to its product suite. What does this mean?
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Our New TV Ad is here!
It’s been a little while since the last one, so we thought it was time to refresh! Our new TV advertising is simple, clean, straight forward and highlights the colours and curves of the Wet & Forget Exterior Moss & Mould Remover 5 litres bottle...
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Our top 6 Spring Cleaning Jobs
The Cherry trees are flowering and the veggie seedlings are starting to thrive, that’s the beauty of Spring. Winter this year has been so wet and all that rain has certainly left a bit of a mess around, so we have listed our top 6 jobs to help get your home back in order...
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Treating Mould: Indoor vs. Outdoor
This has definitely been one of the most humid years in a long while. In fact, so far Sydney recorded its wettest start to a year on record ever! In Australia as a whole, May 2022 rainfall was 40% above the 1961–1990 average. This means a lot of water coming down and...
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Easy Checklist for Cleaning Your Roof
Cleaning your roof can give it new life, and doing so should be easy! We often receive calls from people wondering how they can easily clean their roof, and luckily our products can help with that. Removing biological growth from your roof is easy, just follow these steps! Step 1: Identify the type of growth on your roof. Generally, it is either black mould (which looks like dirt but doesn’t sweep off) or it is lichen (which can look like flat, grey-green cauliflowers). See the pictures below. Step 2: Choose your product. Both the Wet & Forget Concentrate (Blue) and the Rapid Application (Pink) will kill and remove biological growth from your roof. Wet & Forget needs to be mixed with water into a garden or backpack sprayer, however Rapid Application connects to a standard garden hose for a no-mixing-required option. Find out more about how many bottles you may need for your roof area. Step 3: Choose a day with ideal weather. For the product to work best, it needs to be applied in optimal conditions. Choose a day that is cool and dry with not too much sun or wind, and make sure the forecast does not predict any rain for the 12 hours after application. Step 4: Prep the surface. To make sure that the product properly penetrates the mould or lichen, you need to ensure that the surface is free from debris and that the roof surface is dry. Black mould just needs the one coat, however lichen will need to be spot sprayed first. Wait 15-20 minutes after spot spraying, and then saturate the entire area. Step 5: Apply the product. When the weather is good, the surface is prepped, and you have your product ready to treat the growth you have identified – it’s time to apply the product! Apply the product in sections from top to bottom, ensuring that it is properly saturated before moving onto the next section. Note that undertaking work on a roof can be dangerous. Please ensure you take the proper safety precautions. Step 6: Continue on, business as usual, while the product does the work! These products will kill off the spores within the first few hours, preventing it from continuing to grow, and extending the time it takes for the growth to reappear down the track. Then, while you’re going about your business, the product will work with the weather to lift off the dead growth over time. Surfaces affected by lichen and black mould generally take a minimum of 6-8 months to give visible results. But the good news? Even though it can take a while, at the end of it all: The biological growth is dead, It will have a much harder time growing back, You didn’t have to do any scrubbing, You didn’t have to do additional maintenance work, Your roof wasn’t damaged by any harsh chemicals like bleach, because these products don’t contain bleach or caustic and acidic chemicals, You didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars! If you’re prepared to be patient and you don’t mind following instructions, our products can help bring new life back to your roof. You can read more about our more detailed roof cleaning instructions. Learn more about Wet & Forget concentrate moss, mould, lichen and algae remover. Find out more about Rapid Application, ready-to-use moss, mould, lichen and algae remover.
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Strategies For Outdoor Mould Removal and Prevention
When we’re thinking about cleaning up mould, it’s often when we start to notice it – which is normally when it has already gotten pretty bad! One trick with managing mould is to treat it before it gets so bad that you can’t stop looking at it. Mould spores are airborne, so even when you’ve removed it, there is always the chance that it will come back. That’s why learning how to manage mould with preventative strategies is the best way to beat it. How to know where to look Mould spores will flourish in areas where there are ideal conditions for their growth; meaning shady and damp (but mould can pretty much grow anywhere!). Think areas where there might be poor water drainage (areas that never seem to fully dry) and a lack of strong sunlight (even in summer), such as sections of driveways, side paths, patios, sections of walls and fences, and so on. Areas such as these that fit the ideal conditions will almost always continue to experience mould growth. These areas below may start out clean, but can be susceptible to mould growth! How to know if it’s mould The easiest way to spot if you have mould is if you try to sweep an area that appears to have dirt, but the dirt doesn’t move. If you find yourself with an immovable dirt problem, it’s actually a black mould problem! Black mould grows over a long period of time and is difficult to remove easily. This is why an effective mould remover is absolutely key to getting on top of black mould. The images below show what these areas look like when they've been contaminated with mould. Removing Mould With Rapid Application Rapid Application is specifically designed with special biodegradable fungicides to target problematic exterior biological growth just like black mould, as well as a host of other types of growth such as lichen, algae and moss. Rapid Application is such an easy way to remove mould, as it simply clicks onto a standard garden hose, and then mixes to the correct dilution rate right there in the bottle. Its ‘jet’ and ‘fan’ settings available on the nozzle mean that applying to large areas like driveways becomes really quick and easy. Once Rapid Application is on the surface, you just leave it to soak in, and your job is done. Rapid Application will kill off the mould spores in the treated area within a couple of hours, and will then work with the aid of the weather to decompose the remaining dead mould over the next few months. Rapid Application is able to clean up a range of biological growth on many different surfaces, including those shown above as well as tennis courts, roofs, and more. Hmm, a few months you say? Yes, and this is for two reasons: 1) Rapid Application is bleach free, so it doesn’t remove the colour from the mould to give that ‘clean look’, which also means it doesn’t bleach your surface either! 2) Rapid Application is also non-caustic and non-acidic, which means not only will it not bleach the surface, it also won’t corrode or damage it either. While it can take a while for it to look like the mould is gone, it is actually dead and no longer growing after only those few hours, with no damage to your surface underneath. Preventing Mould With Rapid Application Okay, so you’ve applied Rapid Application to the mould problem - what’s next? Well, Rapid Application will actually help to provide some preventative protection against the premature regrowth of mould. The residual product on the surface will reactivate the first few times it rains, to help attack and neutralise and rogue spores. This will help achieve a longer mould-free period on the surface. That said, preventing mould regrowth works best when the surface receives a maintenance dose of Rapid Application about once a year, and it is best to apply this when you start to notice the mould – not when it has already gotten bad. The best time to apply Rapid Application for the prevention of big mould breakouts is in late Autumn or early Winter. This is because we tend to experience more rain and less strong sun in Winter, which provides the conditions that mould loves. That’s why sometimes, for example, your poolside paving might look fine in February, but dark green or even black come November! Rapid Application can help prevent mould on almost every outdoor surface, including all the above mentioned areas as well as timber fencing and colorbond roofing too! Here’s another hot tip for mould prevention: Don’t waterblast first! You might be wondering if you read that right, and you did. Waterblasting (or gurneying) can make the surface look really clean by stripping off the growth, but at the same time, it can actually push the mould spores further into the surface. This means that the mould is more likely to grow back faster, as those spores are now hard to reach with mould-removal products. Learn more about Rapid Application for treating mould To learn more about the Rapid Application product in general, click here. To learn how to apply Rapid Application, click here. To see which surfaces you can apply Rapid Application to, click here.
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Mould has a new best friend… La Nina!
You have probably heard the term ‘La Nina’ thrown around in recent weeks, and some of you have probably wondered what exactly this means for us. In the short, it means a cooler, wetter and more humid summer than usual – which you may have already noticed! And a cool (but not cold!), wet and humid environment, whilst maybe not loved by all of us, is loved very much by something else…mould! You might be thinking, “Mould? In summer? No way!” and the answer to that is “Yes, way!”. When we get mould in winter, its often due to a couple of things. Firstly, as we all know, the winter days are shorter. This means less sunlight over less hours. The sun in winter is also less intense than our summer sun, which is why both outdoor and indoor areas can remain damp during those winter months. Low-intensity sun (as much as it can be in Australia) over less hours means that areas which get wet or at least damp such as side pathways, driveways, patios, roofs, decks, walls, and other areas prone to shade will never really dry until the summer sun comes back. Winter is also colder, so we will often turn on our heaters and stoke our fireplaces in order to keep the house warm. Adding heat to moisture creates humidity, which is the presence of water vapor in the air. So shorter days with weaker sun creates damper conditions in outdoor areas and turning up the heat indoors increases humidity inside too – which is why mould can be seen growing outside as well as inside! Control the Mould! Mould spores require three things to grow and thrive: warmth, moisture, and humidity! Three things that they get in our Australian winter conditions. We know this happens in winter…but surely summer is too hot, right? Normally, yes. In our typical Aussie summer conditions - which are bone dry and pushing the mercury north - mould struggles. But this year, with the La Nina, temperatures are slightly lower (but by no means cold) and moisture is higher due to above average rainfall – which means nice warm, wet and humid conditions which are absolutely great for mould. So, what do you do when you notice mould around your house over the summer months? To start, you’ll need a good mould remover. If the mould at your place is growing outdoors on surfaces such as your deck, driveway, patio, wall, fence, roof or steps then you can use Wet & Forget Exterior Moss and Mould Remover to target outdoor growth including not only mould, but other biological growth like moss, lichen and algae. If the mould is growing indoors on surfaces such as painted walls, windowsills, ceilings, bathroom tiles, sinks, bins or showers then you can use Wet & Forget Indoor Mould and Mildew Remover to remove mould and mildew as well as other germs and bacteria around your home. Mould Removal Products For more information on exterior mould removal, visit the product page for Wet & Forget Concentrate. For more information on interior mould removal, visit the product page for Wet & Forget Indoor. Here at Wet & Forget we are known for our mould removal products which have been tried, tested, and trusted by Australians across the country for over 15 years. We know our products can help you to remove mould almost anywhere in and around your home quickly, easily, and effectively. For questions about our products and how we can help you, visit our Contact Page.
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