Most of us are familiar with running a duster round the shelves and giving the carpet a quick vacuum - but how do you look after a 40 room house, packed with precious artefacts which welcomes over 80,000 visitors through its doors every year?

When Anglesey Abbey, the former home of the 1st Lord Fairhaven, closes for the season, the House conservation team made up of National Trust staff and volunteers get busy inspecting and cleaning everything from floor to ceiling.

This year visitors to Anglesey Abbey at Lode can join a special behind the scenes conservation tour - discover the tools of the trade and watch conservators at work cleaning paintings, books and furniture, and even delaing with woodworm damage to the legs of a sixteenth century dining table.

House and collections manager Gareth Sandham said: “We aim to maintain the house at the exact time it came under National Trust ownership in 1966 and it takes a great deal of time and money to arrest the natural process of deterioration over time.

“The volume of visitors who enjoy the house also presents its own problem – last year we vacuumed up over 2000lbs of dust mainly comprised of dead skin cells and hairs dropped by our visitors”.

Conservation tours run from Tuesday – Friday, from November 12 until December 31, at 12noon and 1.30pm. Tickets (£3.50 / NT Members Free) are available on the day from visitor reception.